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A Fall Miscellany
THE ONLY ALDINE EDITION OF "THE GOLDEN FLEECE":
RENOUARD'S COPY
1. (ALDINE). Valerius Flaccus. Argonautica. Venice: Aldus and
Andrea Asulani, May 1523. Small 8vo. 148 leaves. Aldine dolphin
and anchor woodcut device on title page and colophon leaf.
Nineteenth-century red pebble grain morocco, fully gilt (upper
hinge splitting). Very occasional marginal dampstaining, else a
fine copy. Antoine Augustin Renouard's copy, with his supra-
libros at bottom of front cover; bookplate of author H. Nazeby
Harrington. $4500
The first and only Aldine edition of Valerius Flaccus's
interpretation of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts and their
search for the Golden Fleece, and renowned Aldine scholar and
collector A. A. Renouard's own copy. This rendition of the story
relies heavily on the better-known version of Apollonius of
Rhodes, as well as Vergil's Aeneid. Little is known about
the life of Valerius Flaccus, who died about A.D. 88 without
finishing this, his only known work. Giovanni Battista Pio (d.
ca. 1540), drawing on the Apollonian version, picked up where
Valerius Flaccus left off and finished the story before this
publication. This edition also includes the Argonautica of
Orpheus, a fascinating "autobiographical" view of the search for
the Golden Fleece through the eyes of one of Jason's fellow
Argonauts. Valerius Flaccus was unknown throughout the Middle
Ages, until Poggio Bracciolini discovered a partial manuscript of
the Argonautica in the monastery of St. Gall in 1416. Referring
to this Aldine edition, Dibdin, in his Introduction to the
Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Latin
Classics (2nd edn., 1804), says that "copies of it are
obtained with some difficulty, and at no small price." Renouard
p. 97, no. 3; UCLA 221; HRHRC 201; Brunet V, 1045.
WATERCOLOR DRAWING OF AMAZON INDIANS
2. (AMAZON INDIANS). Mid-nineteenth-century watercolor drawing of a
group of Amazon Indians in ceremonial dress. Undated, but
probably about 1845 to 1860. 24 x 31 cm., watercolor in unmarked
wove paper. In fine, bright condition. From the papers of French
diplomat Francis-Henri-Louis de Geofroy (b. 1822) and possibly
executed by him. $950
A lovely and highly detailed drawing depicting four male
Indians, almost certainly from Brazil, in the foreground. Each
wears brightly colored bone necklaces and ear pendants made of
birds' bones, and feathered headdresses. Their faces and upper
bodies are pierced and painted. One man is hitting a drum, two
play horns, and the fourth extends a spear vertically in front of
him as an official greeting as well as a sign of power. Slightly
to the background are three women, one carrying a child on her
back. All are similarly but far less elaborately dressed. The
scene may be a prelude to a wedding ceremony.
AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD DRUMMER BOY SIGNS UP IN MAY
1776
3. (AMERICAN REVOLUTION). Partly printed enlistment certificate of
Charles Ashby, 1 May 1776, signed (with his mark) by Ashby and
witnessed by Justice of the Peace William Jones. One page quarto.
Light overall age-toning and soiling, partial split along center
fold. Very good. $2800
A remarkable record of an eleven-year-old Loyalist's
enlistment into a British artillery regiment. Two months before
the Declaration of Independence, young Charles Ashby certifies
that he is "aged eleven years," stands "5 feet 4 inches high,"
was "born in Charles Town in South Carolina," and acknowledges
that he "voluntarily Inlisted myself a Drummer to serve His
Majesty King George the Third" in the regiment of artillery
commanded by Viscount Townshend. In the attestation below, the
local justice of the peace certifies that Ashby was not an
apprentice, a militia man, or a soldier in any other corps, and
that he heard read to the enlistee the second and sixth sections
of the Articles of War against mutiny and desertion. A remarkable
ephemeral record of the American Revolution.
FIRST EDITION OF ARCHIMEDES ON
HYDROSTATICS
4. ARCHIMEDES. De iis quae vehuntur in aqua libri duo. A Federico
Commandino ... in pristinum nitorem restituti, et commentariis
illustrati. Bologna: Ex officina Alexandri Benacii, 1565.
4to. [4], 43 [i.e., 45] leaves + final blank L6. Woodcut diagrams
in text. Later (18th-century Italian?) limp vellum. Lower margin
of C1 neatly repaired, not afecting text; light foxing. $3800
First edition of Archimedes' great work on hydrostatics, or
"floating bodies," edited by Federico Commandino. In the same
year Benacci also published Commandino's own Liber de centro
gravitatis solidorum and the two works are sometimes bound
together. Essentially all subsequent study of hydrostatics is
based on Archimedes' initial work. Adams A-1533; Graesse II:236;
Riccardi I:42.
COLORED VIEWS AND PLANS OF VILLAS
5. (ARCHITECTURE). Lugar, Robert. Villa Architecture: A
Collection of Views, with Plans, of Buildings Executed in
England, Scotland, &c. London: J. Taylor, 1828. Folio. [2],
x, 34 p. 42 plates, of which 26 are handcolored aquatints and 16
floor plans. Modern half red morocco. Margins of first two leaves
a bit soiled and with a few tiny chips, two leaves of preface
moderately foxed, an occasional spot of foxing, but the plates
clean and bright and fine. Signature of H. LeRoy Newbold, New
York, 1836, on half title. $4500
First edition. The 26 beautiful handcolored plates depict
villas executed by Lugar (1773?-1855) in England, Scotland, and
Ireland. Each view illustrates the building in the context of the
surrounding landscape. Facing each view is a letterpress
description, and either beneath or following each view is a
detailed floor plan. Abbey, Life, 33; Archer 195.1.
RARE ENGLISH NOVEL LAID IN REVOLUTIONARY-WAR
AMERICA
6. ARNOLD; or, A Trait, and it's [sic] Consequences
of Civil War. A Novel. London: For G. Robinson, 1809. 2 vols.
x, 206, [1] p.; [2], 280, [1] p. incl. half titles. Untrimmed.
Bound in contemporary sheep-backed marbled paper-covered boards
(hinges tender, spine ends chipped). $2000
First and only edition of a cheap English novel laid in
Revolutionary-War America. While the scene is largely set in the
Hudson River valley, there is no local detail, and the author had
probably never been in America. The plot is thin and the writing
style sentimental and bordering on maudlin--a classic trashy
novel of the early nineteenth century, in the style of the
Minerva Press, and written largely for the circulating library
market. OCLC records but four copies: CtY, MHi, MiU-C, and
NHi.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN COLONY IN
LIBERIA
7. ASHMUN, JEHUDI. History of the American Colony in Liberia,
from December 1821 to 1825. Washington City: Way & Gideon,
1826. 42 p. Large folding map. Uncut, in contemporary printed
wrappers. Map moderately foxed, faint dampstaining to last
several leaves, else a lovely copy, stitched and untrimmed as
issued. $1000
First edition. When the American Colonization Society
determined to plant a colony in Liberia to repatriotize American
slaves, Jehudi Ashmun (1794-1828) was asked by the U.S.
government to be its representative in the colony. At the same
time he was agent of the American Colonization Society, and thus
was in effect the governor of the colony from 1824 until his
death in 1828. Shoemaker 23547.
BACON'S TWO BOOKES: FIRST EDITION,
1605
8. BACON, FRANCIS. The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the
Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Humane.
London: For Henrie Tomes, 1605. 4to. [1], 45, 118 [i.e., 121]
leaves. Lacks final blank 3H2 and, as always, the rare two leaves
of errata at the end. Late eighteenth-century half calf and
marbled boards (extremities of boards worn), very skillfully and
imperceptively rebacked retaining entire original spine. Small
worm trail in the bottom margin of quires 2D-2F, occasional minor
marginalia in an early hand, else a lovely copy. Early signature
of Row'd Wetherald on title, signature of Horatio Carlyon, 1861,
on front pastedown. Sachs bookplate and a modern leather book
label. In a calf-backed clamshell box. $7500
First edition. The Two Bookes is Bacon's preliminary
statement of his massive plan to survey all human knowledge and
to reorganize scientific method, as he later propounded in
Instauratio Magna and De Augmentis Scientiarum.
Pforzheimer 36; Gibson 81; Grolier, Langland to Wither,
12; Grolier/Horblit 8a; Norman 97; STC 1164.
PIONEER WORK ON BALLOONING: 1784
9. (BALLOONING). L'Art de Voyager dans les Airs, ou Les Balloons;
Contenant les moyens de faire des Globes aérostatiques suivant la
méthode de MM. de Montgolfier, & suivant les procédés de MM.
Charles & Robert.... Paris: Chez les Libraires, 1784. [4],
142, [2] p. 3 engraved plates. Uncut, in contemporary marbled
paper wrappers, as issued. Tiny burn mark in center of last few
leaves affecting a letter on each of two or three pages, wrappers
worn from upper and lower spine, but a very good, uncut copy,
clean and as issued. $2000
First edition of an early treatise on ballooning, with three
plates depicting balloon ascensions. The work is often
incorrectly attributed to the architect Piroux, confusing this
title with a similar title published the same year. Tissandier
11.
BARCLAY'S EXPOSITION OF THE QUAKER THEOLOGY:THE VERY
RARE FIRST EDITION, IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING
10. BARCLAY, ROBERT. Theologiae verè Christianae Apologia.
Amsterdam: Jacob Claus, for Benjamin Clark (London), Isaac van
Neer (Rotterdam), and Heinrich Betke (Frankfurt), 1676. 4to.
[24], 374, [25] p. Contemporary sprinkled calf, blind fillet
around covers and run twice along spine, gilt sawtooth roll on
board edges, spine with gilt fillet above and below each cord,
old paper ms. title label. Hinges split but held securely by
cords, corners bumped and tips worn through, spine with very
faint white-ish cast. Internally there is a slight dampstain at
the top margin, some slight, sporatic foxing and browning, and
the edges of the endpapers are discolored from the leather turn-
ins. A very good copy. $8000
The rare first edition of the classic exposition of the
Quaker theology, in a very attractive contemporary binding.
Following the founding of the Society of Friends by George Fox in
1647, its adherents issued a large body of minor polemical
pamphlets and tracts. Barclay, the descendant of an ancient
Scottish family, possessed "a degree of learning and logical
skill very unusual amongst the early Quakers" (DNB), and was the
first to rationally set forth the tenets of the Society. In 1675
he published his Theses Theologiae, a series of 15
propositions spelling out Quaker beliefs. The Apologia,
which Barclay had printed in Amsterdam during a period of travel
or voluntary exile, is a reasoned defence of each of the 15
theses set forth in the earlier work. As expressed by Barclay,
the essential principle of the Quaker philosophy is that each
human being possesses an "inner light," by which the soul
perceives the truth of divine revelation; it follows from this
that outward ceremonies and sacraments are irrevelant. Barclay's
"recognition of a divine light working in men of all creeds
harmonises with the doctrine of toleration, which he advocates
with great force and without the restrictions common in his time"
(DNB).
Barclay's Apologia is one of the great theological
works of the seventeenth century, and it remains remarkable for
the clarity and logic of its exposition. It was first published
in English in 1678, widely translated, and remains in print
today.
The original Latin edition is very rare, and was probably
printed in a very small number. Only one copy has appeared at
auction since the mid-1950s (Christie's New York, 1999, $11,500,
in contemporary morocco gilt). The present copy, in a simple but
lovely contemporary binding, is most desirable. Wing B736a.
THE BASKERVILLE VIRGIL: A GLORIOUS COPY IN
CONTEMPORARY MOROCCO
11. (BASKERVILLE PRESS). Virgil (Publius Vergillius Maro).
Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis. Birmingham: John
Baskerville, 1757. 4to. [10], 432 p. Contemporary English or
Irish green morocco, gilt floral borders on covers, spine richly
gilt with floral and ornamental tools, red morocco lettering
piece. A fine, beautiful copy. With the 18th-century engraved
bookplate of Thomas Kelly and contemporary signature on the title
of Hen. Gore. $3800
First Baskerville edition, and a glorious copy. Begun in
1754 and completed three years later, this is "Baskerville's
first and perhaps his finest book" (Gaskell). The subscribers'
list contains the 21 additional names, seen in few copies
according to Gaskell. A lovely copy in a fine period binding.
Gaskell 1.
APHRA BEHN'S WORKS, 1705
12. BEHN, APHRA. All the Histories and Novels Written by the Late
Ingenious Mrs. Behn ... Together with the History of the Life and
Memoirs of Mrs. Behn. By One of the Fair Sex. London: For R.
Wellington, 1705. [10], 377 [i.e., 376], 379-401, 442-500, [6] p.
incl. preliminary advt. leaf. Contemporary panelled calf, very
skillfully rebacked in period style. Tear through several lines
of text on S2 repaired, several other minor largely marginal
tears neatly repaired and blank corners replaced, marginal
staining on last few leaves. A very good copy. $2800
Fifth edition of Mrs. Behn's collected works, including
Oroonoko, The Fair Jilt, The Lover's Watch,
&c. Aphra Behn (1640-1689) is generally considered the first
professional woman writer in English literature.
PERSECUTIONS OF THE QUAKERS IN NEW
ENGLAND
13. BISHOP, GEORGE. New-England Judged, by the Spirit of the Lord
... Containing a Brief Relation of the Sufferings of the People
Call'd Quakers in New-England, from the Time of their First
Arrival There, in the Year 1656, to the Year 1660. Wherein their
Merciless Whippings, Chainings ... Burning in the Hand, Cutting
off Ears ... are Briefly Described.... London: T. Sowle,
1703/02. [10], 113, 112-141, 152-498, 212, [14] p. Contemporary
panelled calf, very skillfully rebacked in handsome period style,
gilt. Hole in the margin of C4, some overall foxing, but a very
attractive copy. Contemporary signatures of Jno. Hoyland Jun. and
Joseph Stokes, bookplate of Charles Roberts. $1800
Second edition of Bishop's work but the first to combine the
original editions of 1661 and 1667 with the first edition of John
Whiting's Truth and Innocency Defended, here with its own
title page and pagination. Bishop's work is a remarkable
catalogue of the persecutions inflicted by the Puritans on the
New England Quakers in the 1660s. Howes calls it the "Most
exhaustive contemporary indictment of God-fearing Puritans driven
by insensate religious fervor to sickening brutalities against
other religious fanatics who dared to differ from themselves.
Witch-hunting was bad; this was worse." Whiting's work is a reply
to Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana. Howes B-
481; European Americana 703/16.
FIRST BOOK BY THE FIRST FEMALE PHYSICIAN IN THE UNITED
STATES
14. BLACKWELL, ELIZABETH. The Laws of Life, with Special Reference
to the Physical Education of Girls. New York: George P.
Putnam, 1852. 180 p. Slate-gray cloth, edges stained red. Spine a
bit faded, a few very tiny spots, else a remarkably fresh, tight
copy, as close to fine as one could hope for. Contemporary
signature of E. H. Cressey on front endpaper. $12,000
First edition of the first book by the first female
physician in the United States. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)
was refused entrance into the medical schools in Philadelphia and
New York, but in 1847 she was accepted by the Geneva Medical
School in western New York State. She succeeded in overcoming the
prejudices of her fellow students and her instructors, and in
1849 she received her medical degree--the first ever conferred on
a woman. The event attracted international press attention, and
she was generally regarded as "either mad or bad." Unable to find
appropriate employment in America or in England, she finally
obtained a job in a maternity hospital in Paris. She soon
returned to the United States and settled in New York, where she
hoped to establish a practice. Patients were initially hesitant
to come, and she described "a blank wall of social and
professional antagonism." In 1857 she opened the New York
Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, a full-scale hospital
whose purpose was not only to serve the poor. but also to provide
positions for women physicians and a training facility for female
medical and nursing students. The institution exists today as the
New York Downtown Hospital. This is her first book, published
just three years after receiving her medical degree. It advocates
physical fitness for women and girls and stresses the importance
of a healthy diet. The book is very scarce, only two copies
having sold at auction in the last thirty-five years. This is a
lovely, near-fine copy. Cushing B421.
WITH SEVEN MAPS OF NORTH AMERICA BY
MORDEN
15. [BLOME, RICHARD]. L'Amerique Angloise, or Description des
Isles et Terres du Roi D'Angleterre, dans L'Amerique.
Amsterdam: Chez Abraham Wolfgang, 1688. 12mo. [4], 331, [1] p. 7
folding maps. Contemporary calf. Spine worn and scuffed, chipped
at ends, later spine label, inner hinges strengthened. Internally
a few gatherings lightly toned but otherwise fine and fresh. $2800
First edition in French of a highly popular guide to the
various seventeenth-century English colonies in North America,
describing their resources, climate, and productiveness. The work
features seven folding maps, most signed by Robert Morden,
depicting the Middle Atlantic colonies, New England and New York,
the Carolinas, New England north to Greenland, Jamaica,
Barbadoes, and Bermuda. The text was first published in London
the previous year. Howes B-546; Sabin 5969.
EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED 1719 BOOK OF COMMON
PRAYER
16. THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, and Administration of the
Sacraments.... Oxford: By John Baskett, 1719. 12mo. [360] p.
Title page and preliminaries printed in red and black and text
ruled in red throughout. Contemporary black morocco, large gilt
central lozenge on covers within a decorative border of gilt
rolls, spine richly gilt in six compartments. Superficial
vertical crack in spine, front hinge cracking a bit at bottom but
very sound, light finger-smudging in outer margins, else a very
good, attractive copy. $750
Extra-illustrated with The Liturgy of the Church of
England Adorn'd with 55 Historical Cuts (London: Richard
Ware, n.d.) and also bound with A New Version of the Psalms of
David ... by N. Brady ... and N. Tate (London: W. Burton,
1719). Griffiths 1719/6.
17. THE BOOK OF PRINCETON VERSE. 1916. Princeton, 1916. xviii,
[2], 187 p. Cloth. A fine copy in a lightly worn dust jacket with
a small piece out of the rear panel. $375
First edition, and the first book appearances by several
authors including John Peale Bishop and Edmund Wilson. Edited by
Alfred Noyes. While the book itself is relatively common, copies
in the dust jacket are almost never seen. This jacket is just
about the nicest we've seen.
BOXING
18. (BOXING). [Moore, Thomas]. Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress.
With a Preface, Notes and Appendix. By one of the Fancy. New
York: For Kirk and Mercein [etc.], William A. Mercein, pr., 1819.
120 p. Later half morocco. A nice tight copy, with the half
title. $400
First American edition of Moore's delightfully satirical
essay and poem. The work is a biting political satire in the
guise of a memorial to a political congress delivered by the
chosen representatives of the Pugilistic Fraternity, or "The
Fancy." Henderson calls it "A pugilistic-political poem." The
work first appeared in London earlier in the year and was
reprinted several times. The American edition is scarce.
Henderson, Early American Sport, p. 180; S&S 48741.
LANGUID AND UNHEEDED MOTION
19. BOYLE, ROBERT. An Essay of the Great Effects of Even Languid
and Unheeded Motion. Whereunto is Annexed an Experimental
Discourse of some Little Observed Causes of the Insalubrity and
Salubrity of the Air and its Effects. London: By M. Flesher,
for Richard Davis, 1685. 8vo. [8], 123, [5], 95 p. including
internal blanks I7-8. Neat modern calf, antique, retaining
original front flyleaf with the signature of Mr. Jocelyn. Light
dust soiling of first few leaves, else a fine, clean copy. $2800
First edition, with the first state title page (without
Boyle's name). Boyle's anonymously published work on languid and
unheeded motion "gives him a place in the history of
thermodynamic concepts. Many passages indicate that Boyle was
thinking of a 'mechanical equivalent of heat,' and that he
considered heat to be the product of small particles in 'local
motion.'" (Norman) It also contains Boyle's re-evaluation of the
ultimate particles of which air is composed. The second part on
the salubrity and insalubrity of air contains Boyle's
observations on the causes of the plague. Fulton 163; Norman 309;
NLM/Krivatsy 1715; Wing B3948.
FIRST AMERICAN, IN THE ORIGINAL BOARDS
20. BRONTE SISTERS. Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.
Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1848. iv, [1], 13-176, [24] p.
Original brown paper-covered boards, printed paper spine label.
Outer brown paper worn from along hinges and at tips of spine
revealing lighter paper underneath, scattered foxing, else a very
nice, very tight copy in the fragile original boards. With an
1848 ownership signature of A. G. Trafton on the front endpaper. $2800
First American edition of the Brontë sisters' first book. An
unusually nice copy, as most surviving copies are in rough
condition or have been rebacked. The book's original owner, A. G.
Trafton, was a resident of Alfred, Maine, and the district
schoolmaster. Smith, The Brontë Sisters, pp. 14-17.
AARON BURR NEW JERSEY SERMON: 1757
21. BURR, AARON. The Watchman's Answer to the Question, What of
the Night, &c. A Sermon Preached before the Synod of New-York,
Convened at Newark, in New-Jersey, September 30. 1756 ... The
Second Edition. Boston: S. Kneeland, 1757. 46 p. Stitched in
contemporary blue paper wrappers, then sewn into early (18th-
century?) homemade covers. Stain on both wrappers and first few
leaves of text, upper corner of title page worn away costing one
letter, outer cover chipped at edges, else a very good copy.
Eighteenth-century ownership signatures of Benjamin Sheldon and
Josepha [?] Ely, the latter dated 1777. $900
Second edition of an early New Jersey sermon by the second
president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton
University). Aaron Burr was born in Connecticut, graduated from
Yale College, and in 1736 became minister of the First Church in
Newark. He was one of the original trustees of the College of New
Jersey, and after Jonathan Dickinson's death in 1747 Burr became
the college's second president, serving until his own death ten
years later. During his presidency the college moved from his
parsonage in Newark to Princeton. He was the father of Aaron Burr
(1756-1836), vice-president of the United States. Evans 7863;
Felcone, New Jersey Books, 34.
PRESENTATION COPY FROM THE
PUBLISHER,WITH THE SUPPRESSED "FOLIUM RESERVATUM" BOUND IN
22. CATLIN, GEORGE. O-Kee-Pa: A Religious Ceremony: and other
Customs of the Mandans. London: Trübner and Co., 1867. Small
4to. vi, [2], 52 p. plus iii-p. "Folium Reservatum." 13
chromolithographed plates after Catlin by Simonau & Toovey.
Publisher's purple cloth, gilt, all edges gilt. Binding lightly
soiled and faded, extremities lightly worn (spine ends more so),
occasional minor foxing. A very good copy of a fragile book
difficult to find in fine condition. $20,000
First edition, with the rare "Folium Reservatum" bound in at
the rear. A presentation copy inscribed by the publisher,
Nicholas Trübner ("N. Trübner"), to Thomas Scott. O-Kee-Pa was a
religious ceremony practiced by the Mandan tribe that lived on
the upper Missouri. It included frenzied dances and highly
charged sexual pantomines, followed by barbaric torture and
mortification of the flesh. Pioneer Indian bibliographer Thomas
Field described the remarkable color plates as depicting the
ceremony in "horrible fidelity." Catlin's text is an important
survival, as the Mandans were wiped out by smallpox in 1837,
shortly after Catlin's visit. The explicit details of the sexual
elements of the ceremony, involving a large artificial plallus,
were considered too shocking for the general public and were
included in a separately issued three-page "Folium Reservatum,"
purportedly issued in an edition of approximately 25 copies. It
is particularly desirable to have it bound together with the main
text in an original publisher's binding. Nicholas Trübner was a
distinguished bookseller and scholar with a great interest in
publishing scholarly works. His publishing house, established in
1851, still exists. Howes C-244 ("b"); Field 262.
FIRST QUAKER TO REACH PENNSYLVANIA:
1658
23. COALE, JOSIAH. The Books and Divers Epistles of the Faithful
Servant of the Lord Josiah Coale.... [London]: Printed in the
year, 1671. 4to. 28, 33-104, 152, 269-343 [i.e., 344] p. Complete
as issued. Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked and recornered,
later (but old) endpapers. Modern bookplate. $3000
First edition. Pages 14 through 19 contain a testimony by
William Penn, most likely written while Penn was in prison. The
testimony expresses great love and admiration for Coale. Josiah
Coale was one of Penn's intimate friends during Penn's first
years as a Quaker. Coale had been one of the early missionaries
to the New World and was likely the first Quaker to touch
Pennsylvania soil in 1658 (Bronner & Fraser p. 131). The text,
erratically paginated but complete and conforming to the other
known copies, contains several different essays and testimonies,
including "An Epistle to Friends in New-England," "To the Flock
of God, Gather'd out of the World in the Province of Maryland,"
"To all People in Jamaica," &c. "The VVhore Unveiled" has a
separate title page dated 1667. European Americana 671/82;
Wing C4751; Bronner & Fraser (Penn) 13; Baer (Maryland) 68;
JCB(3) III:215.
COCKBURN'S TRAVELS IN CENTRAL AMERICA, 1735, WITH THE
MAP
24. COCKBURN, JOHN. A Journey over Land from the Gulf of Honduras
to the Great South-Sea. Performed by John Cockburn, and Five
other Englishmen.... London: For C. Rivington, 1735. viii,
349, [3] p. Folding map. Contemporary sprinkled calf, very
skillfully rebacked with entire original spine and label
retained. A lovely copy, the text clean and fresh and entirely
unfoxed. Wolfgang Herz copy, with his small book label. $3500
First edition. Cockburn was an English seaman who had sailed
to the coast of Central America in 1731. His ship was boarded off
the coast of Honduras by the Spanish authorities and the crew
taken to Puerto Cavalho. From there, accompanied by five other
seamen, he made his way across Central America to the Pacific
coast. The journal, highly popular at the time, was reprinted
three more times before 1800. It was originally thought to be
fictitious because of the excessive privations Cockburn
described. Today it remains one of the few accounts by foreign
travelers through Central America in the first half of the
eighteenth century. Annexed to the work is a quaint account of
the travels of Nicholas Withington. Hill 324; Sabin 14095;
Griffin 2530.
COKE ON MANORS AND MANORIAL LAW
25. COKE, EDWARD. The Compleate Copy-Holder wherein is contained a
Learned Discourse of the Antiquity and Nature of Manors and Copy-
holds.... London: For Matthew Walbanck, and Richard Best,
1644. [4], 16, 13-203 p. Neat modern full calf, in period style.
Worm trail toward end of text but confined largely to margin,
margins close on title page but ample, else very good. $750
Second edition, following the first edition of 1641. The
great English legal mind on copyholds and manorial law. This work
effectively marked the triumph of the king's courts over the
feudal courts. Wing C-4913.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST FIVE ABOLITION
CONVENTIONS
26. CONVENTION OF DELEGATES FROM THE ABOLITION SOCIETIES. Minutes
of the Proceedings of a Convention of Delegates from the
Abolition Societies Established in Different parts of the United
States, Assembled at Philadelphia.... Philadelphia: Zachariah
Poulson, Junr., 1794. 30 p. Accompanied by the proceedings of the
second through fifth conventions (Philadelphia: Poulson, 1795-
1798; 32, 32, 59, 20 p.). All removed. Final leaf of final
pamphlet damaged in the margin, with the loss of several letters,
else all fine copies. The five items, $3000
In January 1794 representatives from the major state
abolition societies held their first convention in Philadelphia.
Joseph Bloomfield was elected president. The printed minutes
record the names of the individual delegates, the state societies
they represent, and the proceedings of the convention. Each
succeeding year a similar meeting was held in Philadelphia, and
the proceedings of the first five conventions are offered here.
The minutes of the fourth meeting contains a lengthy and detailed
appendix of the activities of the local societies, with local
laws relating to slaves and slavery. Evans 26533, 28146, 29947,
31686, 33264.
EARLY AMERICAN COOKBOOK
27. (COOKERY). American Domestic Cookery, formed on Principles of
Economy, for the use of Private Families. By an Experienced
Housekeeper ... To which is added The Complete Family Brewer.
New-York: Evert Duyckinck, 1823. 357 p. Frontis., engraved fore-
title, and 7 plates. Contemporary marbled leather, very
skillfully rebacked with original gilt spine laid down. Scattered
dampstaining on first and last few leaves, plates foxed, but a
very nice copy. $650
Adapted from Mrs. Rundell's A New System of Domestic
Cookery, first published in America in 1807. Lowenstein 93;
Shoemaker 14014.
18TH CENTURY AMERICAN COOKBOOK
28. (COOKERY). Briggs, Richard. The New Art of Cookery; According
to the Present Practice; Being a Complete Guide to all
Housekeepers, on a Plan Entirely New.... Boston: For W.
Spotswood, 1798. xxiii, [25], 444 p. Contemporary sheep, very
skillfully rebacked in period style, retaining the original spine
label. Gathering N is very heavily foxed and spotted, and a few
other gatherings are uniformly browned or foxed, due to the
varying qualities of the paper stocks used. Otherwise, a very
good copy. $3800
An early American printing of Briggs' cookbook, originally
published in London in 1788. The text consists of recipes for all
manner of foods, as well as puddings and pies and other sweets,
candying, breads, the arts of carving and pickling, preserving,
etc. Also monthly bills of fare. Cookbooks printed in America
before 1800 are now rarely seen in trade, and almost never in
fine condition. Several years ago we handled another copy of this
book, now in the Library of Congress, and it, too, had a heavily
browned and spotted gathering N and similarly browned and foxed
sporatic gatherings. Such is the nature of early American paper.
Lowenstein 25; Maclean pp. 15-16; Evans 33458.
18TH-CENTURY CONFECTIONARY GUIDE
29. (COOKERY). Eales, Mary. Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts.
Confectioner to her late Majesty Queen Anne. London: For J.
Robson, 1767. [8], 106, ii p. Contemporary sheep, neatly rebacked
to style. A clean, very good copy. Early ownership signature of
Ann Clarke. $1500
The "corrected" second edition, originally published in 1718
with a second edition in 1733. This work is different from
Eales's Compleat Confectioner, first published in 1733.
Maclean p. 40; cf. Bitting p. 139. ESTC records only two copies,
at BL and Univ. of Leeds.
EARLY AMERICAN COOKBOOK
30. (COOKERY). The Experienced American Housekeeper, or Domestic
Cookery: Formed on Principles of Economy for the Use of Private
Families. New York: Nafis & Cornish; Philadelphia: John B.
Perry, [1838]. 216 p. 6 plates. Contemporary sheep, very
skillfully rebacked in period style with original label
preserved. Occasional spotting and foxing, but a very nice copy. $500
First published in 1823 and adapted from Maria Rundell, A
New System of Domestic Cookery. Lowenstein 218 (variant
imprint).
MRS. HARRISON'S COOKBOOK
31. (COOKERY). Harrison, Sarah. The House-Keeper's Pocket-Book,
and Compleat Family Cook: Containing above Twelve Hundred Curious
and Uncommon Receipts in Cookery, Pastry, Preserving, Pickling,
Candying, Collaring, &c.... London: For J. Rivington and Sons
[et al], 1777. [33], 6-208, [8] p. Modern paneled calf,
antique. Few tiny, unobtrusive worm trails in bottom margin, very
minor foxing, else a very good, clean copy. Several leaves of
contemporary interest tables are bound in after the contents
leaf. $1200
Ninth edition, revised and corrected. Mrs. Harrison's text
was first published in 1733. Of this 1777 edition ESTC records
but three copies.
FIRST EDITION OF MARY KETTILBY'S RECIPES AND REMEDIES:
1714
32. (COOKERY). [Kettilby, Mary]. A Collection of above Three
Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery; for the Use of
all Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses. London:
For Richard Wilkin, 1714. [16], 218, [13] p. Contemporary paneled
calf, neatly rebacked. Light overall toning, minor marginal
foxing and dampstaining, upper margin of A3 clipped and neatly
restored, just grazing running head on verso. Three leaves of
early owners' recipes bound in at end. Early ownership signature
of Tho: Tipping, dated at several locations in Hertfordshire,
1714-1739; later signature of Elizabeth Randall, 1771. Modern
cookery bookplate. A very nice copy, in a portfolio and leather-
backed slipcase. $2800
First edition of Mary Kettilby's collection of cookery
recipes and medicinal and home remedies, from a tasty "green-
pease soop, without meat" to gooseberry wine. While the title
page states that the work is "By several hands," there is little
doubt--from evidence in later editions--that Kettilby was the
principal author. Maclean pp. 79-82; Bitting p. 258; Oxford p.
54; Cagle 789; Wellcome II p. 389.
33. (COOKERY). Nutt, Frederic. The Complete Confectioner, or The
Whole Art of Confectionary, Made Easy: with Receipts for
Liqueures, Home-Made Wines.... London: J. Smeeton, for
Mathews and Leigh, 1809. xxiv, 261 p. + [6] p. ads. Frontis. + 10
plates (2 folding). Modern paper-covered boards, paper label, in
period style. Untrimmed. Considerably foxed. $300
Sixth edition. Nutt's work was first published, anonymously,
in 1789. He did not identify himself until the fourth edition, in
1807, when he said he was "... late an apprentice to Messrs.
Negri and Witten [confectioners] of Berkeley Square." Included
are recipes for candies, cookies, pastry, jams, and other
treats.
DOMESTIC COOKERY
34. (COOKERY). [Rundell, Maria Eliza]. A New System of Domestic
Cookery, Formed upon Principles of Economy, and Adapted to the
use of Private Families. By a Lady. Third Edition. Exeter:
Norris & Sawyer; sold also by William Sawyer & Co., Newburyport,
and Benj. P. Sherriff, Exeter, 1808. [6], xx, 297 p. Contemporary
sheep. Small piece torn from fore-edge of title page, not
affecting type, some scattered spotting and foxing; a nice solid
copy. $600
Mrs. Rundell's book is generally considered the first fully
developed household encyclopedia and cookbook. Originally
published in London in 1805/06, it was first reprinted in America
in 1807. Lowenstein 50; S&S 16112.
A COLLECTOR'S ICON, WITH A DISTINGUISHED
PROVENANCE
35. CORYATE, THOMAS. Coryats Crudities hastily gobled up in Five
Moneths Travells in France, Savoy, Italy, Rhetia comonly called
the Grisons Country, Helvetia alias Switzerland, some parts of
high Germany and the Netherlands. London: By W[illiam]
S[tansby], 1611. 4to. Printed title present (Three Crude
Veines...) Engraved allegorical title by William Hole (shaved
very slightly at head). Engraved plates of Margarita Emiliana,
the amphitheatre at Verona, the great tun of Heidelberg, and the
clock at Strasburg (fore-edge margin neatly extended). Woodcut of
the Prince of Wales' feathers, and text portrait of Emperor
Frederick IV. Errata leaf present. Many woodcut initials and
headpieces. Nineteenth-century brown crushed levant morocco,
gilt, by Bedford. An unusually tall (209 mm.) and very handsome
copy, with the rare printed title. From with successive libraries
of Ward E. Terry, R. B. Adam, A. Edward Newton, Bois Penrose, and
Wolfgang A. Herz, with their respective bookplates and book
labels. $16,000
First edition of one of the oddest vanity publications of
the period, and a long-time collector's icon. Coryate, of Odcombe
in Somerset, was a member of the household of the Prince of
Wales, son of James I, occupying a position of unofficial court
jester. In 1608, after the death of his father, he determined to
visit the Continent. He travelled, largely on foot, through
France, Savoy, and Italy, and returned through Switzerland,
Germany, and the Netherlands. When he reached home, as a gesture
of thankfulness for his safe return, he hung his travelling
clothes and shoes in the church; his shoes remained there for 100
years. After experiencing difficulty in finding a publisher for
the record of his travels, he secured testimonial verses from
more than sixty contemporary writers, including Jonson, Donne,
Campion, Chapman, Drayton, Dudley Digges, Inigo Jones, and many
others. Though the verses are written largely with tongue firmly
in cheek, and in many instances actually mock Coryate, they
nonetheless represent a remarkable assembly of Jacobean poets.
"There probably has never been another such combination of
learning and unconscious buffoonery as is here set forth."--
Pforzheimer.
As-issued copies are practically unknown, as the book has
always been avidly collected and rebound according to the fashion
of the day. The Encyclopedia Britannica even comments:
"Perhaps of no book in the English Language of the same size and
the same age is it possible to say that there are not two perfect
copies in existence!" While this is certainly overstated,
virtually all copies have defective or incomplete plates, and
many lack the printed title, as the engraved title is far more
impressive and is the title by which the book is universally
known. The present copy, with unusually good and largely
uncropped plates, certainly stands above most of the recorded
copies sold within the past several decades, including the
Bradley Martin copy. The copy has a rather remarkable provenance,
having been owned by five successive and distinguished American
book collectors, all of whom have been members of the Grolier
Club: Ward E. Terry, R. B. Adam, A. Edward Newton, Boies Penrose,
and Wolfgang A. Herz. In fact, Herz selected this book for "The
Grolier Club Collects" exhibition. Your bookseller, an
entirely undistinguished American book collector and Grolier Club
member, will be pleased to extend a special Grolier discount to
any fellow club member in an effort to continue the tradition of
ownership associated with this copy. Pforzheimer 218; Grolier,
Langland to Wither, 49; European Americana 611/16
(noting tobacco-related verse); STC 5808; The Grolier Club
Collects, 44 (this copy).
COTES ON HYDROSTATICS
36. COTES, ROGER. Hydrostatical and Pneumatical Lectures.
London: For the editor, and sold by S. Austen, 1738. [16], 243,
[11] p. 5 engraved folding plates. Contemporary sprinkled calf,
neatly rebacked. Name clipped from top corner of front endpaper
and repaired with old paper. A very good copy. $1200
First edition. Edited and with notes by Robert Smith. Cotes
(1682-1716) was a close friend of Newton's and editor of the
second edition of the Principia, to which he also
contributed the preface. On Cotes' death at age 34, Newton
remarked, "Had Cotes lived, we might have known something."
Robert Smith was Cotes' cousin and academic successor. Babson
343; Bibliotheca Mechanica pp. 81-82.
THE BEAUFORT-LEO-NEWTON COPY
37. DAVENANT, SIR WILLIAM. The Works of Sr. William Davenant Kt.
Consisting of those which were formerly Printed, and those which
he Design'd for the Press: Now Published out of the Authors
Originall Copies. London: By T. N. for Henry Herringman,
1673. Folio. [8], 402, [4], 486, 111 p. Portrait by Faithorne.
Turn-of-the-century red levant morocco, gilt arabesque
centerpiece on covers, a.e.g., by Riviere. Very skillfully
rebacked, though the new leather at the joints and on the cords
has uniformly faded. An unusually fine, fresh, wide-margined
copy, with a fine impression of the portrait. Leather-tipped
fleece-lined slipcase (edges rubbed). The Duke of Beaufort-E. F.
Leo-A. E. Newton copy, with their bookplates. $2200
First collected edition, containing considerable previously
unpublished material. The tragi-comedy "The Law Against Lovers,"
first printed in this edition, is a mixture of the plots of
Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Measure for Measure."
There is prefatory matter by Hobbes, Waller, and Cowley. Wing D-
320.
CLASSIC WORK ON DENTISTRY: 1771
38. (DENTISTRY). Hunter, John. The Natural History of the Human
Teeth: Explaining their Structure, Use, Formation, Growth and
Diseases. London: For J. Johnson, 1771. 4to. [8], 128 p. 16
engraved plates with facing letterpress. Nineteenth-century half
roan (headcap neatly replaced, lightly scuffed, corners worn).
Just a hint of foxing in the top margin, else a clean, wide-
margined copy. Armorial bookplate of Frederick Symonds. $4500
First edition. This work, together with Hunter's second work
published in 1778, A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the
Teeth, Intended as a Supplement to the Natural History of Those
Parts, "revolutionized the practice of dentistry and provided
a basis for later dental research. Hunter introduced the classes
cuspids, bicuspids, molars, and incisors; he also devised
appliances for the correction of malocclusion." (Garrison-Morton)
G-M 3675; Norman 1116.
WHALING AND SHIPWRECK NARRATIVE
39. DEXTER, ELISHA. Narrative of the Loss of Whaling Brig William
and Joseph, of Martha's Vineyard, and the Sufferings of her Crew
for Seven Days, a Part of the Time on a Raft in the Atlantic
Ocean.... Boston, 1848. 52 p. 5 full-page woodcuts.
Contemporary printed wrappers. A few very faint stains on the
front wrapper, else a remarkably fine, fresh copy. $1800
Second edition, revised and enlarged from the very rare
first edition of 1842. One of the classic whaling narratives. In
1840 Dexter sailed out of Martha's Vineyard to hunt sperm whales,
heading first toward Fayal in the Azores and then to the Cape
Verde Islands. After fourteen months of hard work and only 200
barrels of sperm oil, they made for home. On the way, the ship
encountered a severe storm and was dismasted. After a harrowing
week and failed attempts to fashion a sailable vessel, they were
rescued by another whaler and reached home in December 1841.
Dexter was ruined financially as his ship was uninsured, and the
publication of his narrative may have been an effort of recoup
some of his lost funds. Huntress 357C.
THE SPENCER CATALOGUE COMPLETE WITH ALL
SUPPLEMENTS
40. DIBDIN, THOMAS FROGNALL. Bibliotheca Spenceriana; or A
Descriptive Catalogue of the Books Printed in the Fifteenth
Century ... in the Library of George John Earl Spencer
[with:] Supplement to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana [with:]
Aedes Althorpianae; or An Account of the Mansion, Books and
Pictures, at Althorp [with:] A Descriptive Catalogue of
the Books Printed in the Fifteenth Century, Lately Forming Part
of the Library of the Duke di Cassano Serra, and now the Property
of George John Earl Spencer. London: For the author, by
Shakespeare Press, 1814-1815, 1822-1823. 7 vols., 4to. Profusely
illustrated with engraved plates, hundreds of facsimiles of early
woodcuts and type, some printed in color. Modern full tan
morocco, richly gilt, covers with central arms and cornerpieces
within a two-line fillet, board edges and turn-ins gilt, spines
fully gilt in compartments. Some engraved plates foxed and a few
dampstained, offsetting from text illustrations, gathering M in
v.4 heavily foxed, else a very good set in very fine, fresh
bindings. $2800
The complete Spencer catalogue, with all supplements, in a
very handsome matched binding. The greatest library catalogue of
its time, and a major work on fifteenth-century books.
BOUND BY AN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICAN
MINISTER/BOOKBINDER
41. (EARLY AMERICAN BINDING). Schultz, Christoph. Kurze Fragen
Ueber die Christiche Glaubens-Lehre ... Den Christlichen
Glaubens-Schulern.... Philadelphia: Carl Cist, 1784. [10],
140 p. Contemporary sprinkled calf, blind roll and fillets on
boards and spine, red sprinkled edges, by Christoph Hoffmann. A
nice, tight copy. $900
A nicely preserved Hoffmann binding. Christoph Hoffmann
(1727-1804) was a Schwenckfelder minister as well as an
accomplished bookbinder who worked in Philadelphia County from
the early 1760s. Bryn Mawr/Maser Collection 15; German
Language Printing 610; Evans 18779.
1736 CONNECTICUT SERMON
42. ELIOT, JARED. The Two Witnesses; or, Religion Supported by
Reason and Divine Revelation. N. London: T. Green, 1736. [4],
79 p. incl. half title. Untrimmed and stitched as issued. Outside
of first and last leaf rather soiled and with two small old
gummed tape repairs, minor dampstain in margins of last few
leaves, else a very good copy. $600
A sermon preached before the North Society at Lyme,
Connecticut. Jared Eliot (1685-1763) was a 1706 Yale graduate and
pastor of the Congregational Church at Killington for over fifty
years. Johnson, New London Imprints, 337; Evans 4013.
A NEAR-FINE COPY
43. FAULKNER, WILLIAM. The Hamlet. New York: Random House,
1940. [8], 421 p. Cloth. A near-fine copy, with spine lettering a
bit dull as always, in a near-fine and bright dust jacket with
light wear only at the corners. $2800
First edition, and a lovely copy.
44. FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. All the Sad Young Men. New York,
1926. [8], 267 p. Cloth. Covers moderately spotted, first and
last few leaves very slightly foxed, nearly invisible blindstamp
on title. Good plus. $450
First edition. Bruccoli A13.1.
GATSBY
45. FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. The Great Gatsby. New York:
Scribner's, 1925. [6], 218 p. Cloth. Front free endpaper lacking,
covers lightly soiled. $1500
First edition, first printing. Bruccoli A11.1.a; Connolly,
The Modern Movement, 48.
TALES OF THE JAZZ AGE
46. FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. Tales of the Jazz Age. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. [2], xi, [1], 317 p. Cloth. Spine
lettering just a trifle dulled, front inner hinge slightly
cracked, else a very good copy, without the dust jacket. $400
First edition, first or second printing (not distinguished),
with "an" at 232.6. Bruccoli A9.1.a.
TALES OF THE JAZZ AGE
47. FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. Tales of the Jazz Age. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. [2], xi, [1], 317 p. Cloth.
Lettering of "Scribner's" at foot of spine dulled, else a very
good copy, without the dust jacket. $400
First edition, first or second printing (not distinguished),
with "an" at 232.6. Bruccoli A9.1.a.
48. FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. Tender is the Night. A Romance. New
York: Scribner's, 1934. [8], 408 p. Cloth. Spine lettering very
faint, general cover wear. A good-to-very good copy. Willard
Thorp's copy. $400
First edition, second printing. Willard Thorp (1899-1990)
received his Ph.D at Princeton in 1926 and in that year began his
distinguished career in Princeton's English department. Bruccoli
A15.1.b.
FLUDD'S OCCULT MASTERPIECE
49. FLUDD, ROBERT. Philosophia Moysaica. In qua sapientia &
scientia creationis & creaturarum sacra vereque Christiana ...
explicatur. 2 parts in 1. [Bound with, as issued:]
Responsum ad hoplocrisma-spongum M. Fosteri. Gouda: Petrus
Rammazenius, 1638. Folio. [4], 152 [i.e., 144], 30, [1] leaves.
Engraved title page vignette (repeated in second part). Woodcut
text illustrations. Panelled sprinkled calf. Mixed paper stocks,
with some gatherings lightly browned, some very lightly foxed. A
lovely, fresh, near fine copy. $8000
First edition of Fludd's occult masterpiece. Fludd (1574-
1637) was a British physician, author, rosicrucian, and mystical
philosopher. His Philosophia Moysaica, published shortly
after his death, embodies the extreme mysticism through which he
and his circle claimed to have discovered the secret key to all
scientific truth. An English translation appeared in 1659. The
Responsum, though sometimes treated as as a separate work,
was issued with the Philosophia Moysaica, and the errata
leaf bound at the end of the second work corrects both texts.
Caillet 4036; Ferguson I: 283-284; Honeyman 1329; Osler 2629.
RICH MEN--RICHLY EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED
50. [FORBES, ABNER]. The Rich Men of Massachusetts: Containing a
Statement of the Reputed Wealth of about Two Thousand Persons,
with Brief Sketches of Nearly Fifteen Hundred Characters.
Boston, 1852. 224 p. Extra-illustrated with 50 portraits and 18
original documents. Modern green half morocco, spine slightly and
uniformly faded. In fine condition. $850
Second edition, considerably enlarged over the first edition
issued the previous year. In addition to the portraits, the
neatly inlaid matter includes signed business and financial
documents, circulars, autograph notes, &c.
MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC BOOK OF 18TH-CENTURY
AMERICA
51. FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. Experiments and Observations on
Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America ... To which are
added, Letters and Papers on Philosophical Subjects....
London: For F. Newbery, 1774. 4to. v, [1], 514, [16] p. 7
engraved plates, several woodcut text illustrations. Lacks half-
title. Contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, calf spine,
very skillfully rebacked in period style. Later endpapers.
Occasional foxing of both text and plates, some offsetting from a
few plates, light stains on H3-4 and 2M3-4. Withal a very good
copy. $8500
The fifth and final edition of the book that PMM calls "the
most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America."
"English editions one, two, and three had been published
carelessly ... he edited the fourth edition in person [and]
introduced footnotes ... Other notes corrected faults of early
ignorance. In some cases the actual text was revised ... The most
outstanding difference ... is of course in content." I. Bernard
Cohen, Benjamin Franklin's Experiments. In addition to the
famous kite and key experiment, Franklin's work with Leiden jars,
lightning rods, and charged clouds is summarized. The fifth
edition is essentially a reprint of the fourth edition with
several small corrections. PMM 199 (1st edn.); Wheeler Gift 367b;
Ford 307; Howes F320 ("b").
THE LAWIERS LOGIKE: 1588
52. FRAUNCE, ABRAHAM. The Lawiers Logike, exemplifying the
præcepts of Logike by the Practise of the Common Lawe.
London: By William How, for Thomas Gubbin, and T. Newman, 1588.
4to. [10], 151 [i.e., 152] leaves incl. blank leaf 2A2. Folding
table. Title within type ornament border. Woodcut initials. Mixed
black letter and roman. Full red gilt panelled morocco, edges
gilt, by Bedford. First two leaves lightly washed, short closed
tear on table, blank corner of 2K4 replaced, else a fine, clean
copy. With the armorial bookplate of Sir Edward Priaulx and the
book label of Abel E. Berland. $8000
First edition. A legal treatise by a Gray's Inn lawyer.
Fraunce was also a poet and the protégé of Sir Philip Sidney. The
book's dedication, to the earl of Pembroke, is in rhymed
hexameters, quotations from Latin and English poets are
incorporated within the text, and Virgil's second eclogue is
included in both the original Latin and in Fraunce's own English
hexameters. Sweet and Maxwell (I, p. 238) state: "From this work
Shakespeare is supposed to have acquired some of his legal
knowledge." Beale T.360; STC 11344.
SAO MIGUEL IN THE PORTUGUESE AZORES
53. FREITAS, BERNARDINO JOSE DE SENNA. Uma Viagem ao Valle das
Furnas na Ilha de S. Miguel em Junho de 1840. Lisboa, 1845.
Folio. xvi, 105 p. 3 lithographed plates, several vignette
illustrations in text. Later half mottled calf. Plates foxed,
largely in the margins, extremities of binding rubbed.
Accompanied by a fine 1591 engraving depicting the island after
the great earthquake of that year, extracted from De Bry's
Grand Voyages. The pair, $1200
First edition. An account of the highly volcanic Furnas
valley on the western end of the island of S o Miguel in the
Portuguese Azores. The area is most noted for its
caldeiras, or boiling fountains--natural geysers that
shoot water high into the air. The waters were long sought for
their curative properties. The three plates depict these geysers
within the surrounding landscape. Palau 21:3.
GERARD'S GREAT HERBAL: 1633
54. GERARD, JOHN. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes.
London: By Adam Islip, Joice Norton, and Richard Whitakers, 1633.
Folio. Engraved title, [36], 30, 29-30, 29-1630, [48] p.
Illustrated with over 2500 woodcuts of plants. Early nineteenth-
century panelled calf, neatly rebacked retaining original fully
gilt spine. Title lightly soiled but complete and free of any
repair, blank fore- and bottom edges of A4-5 neatly extended, a
few marginal tears neatly closed, intermittant faint dampstain in
top margin becoming a bit more noticeable toward the end of the
text, marginal repair to 7A1 (index) costing several page
numbers, blank lower corner of 7B5 replaced. A very good and most
attractive copy, without the extensive repairing and
sophistication that nearly always comes with early English
herbals. With an ownership inscription and cost dated 1634. $8000
The first printing of the second and "best" edition of John
Gerard's great English herbal, very extensively corrected and
enlarged by Thomas Johnson from the original edition of 1597.
John Gerard (1545-1612) was a barber-surgeon and horticulturist
who based his work on Rembert Dodoens' earlier Stirpium
Historiae Pemptades Sex and on his own extensive gardening
experience. Thirty-six years later, when a new and more accurate
edition was called for, Thomas Johnson, a well-known apothecary
and botanist, was chosen for the task. Johnson wrote a lengthy
new preface, "corrected many of Gerard's more gullible errors,
and improved the accuracy of the illustrations by using Plantin's
woodcuts." (Hunt) Johnson's improvements were so great that
"Johnson's Gerard" quickly became the desired edition, and a
second printing was done in 1636. Early English herbals have
always been keenly sought by collectors, and they are normally
found either imperfect or heavily repaired and sophisticated. The
present copy is complete and with relatively minor restoration.
Hunt 223; Henrey 155; Nissen 698; STC 11751.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST BOOKS PRINTED IN GERMAN TYPE IN
AMERICA
55. (GERMAN AMERICANA). Zionitischer Weyrauchs Hügel Oder: Myrrhen
Berg, Worinnen allerley liebliches und wohl riechendes nach
Apotheker-Kunst zubereitetes Rauch-Werck zu finden....
Germantown [Pa.]: Christoph Sauer, 1739. 8vo. [12], 792, [14] p.
Contemporary calf over wooden boards, clasps lacking, very
skillfully rebacked in period style. Free endpapers neatly
replaced with old paper, original pastedowns present and with
contemporary notes in a German hand. A few very tiny ink-burn
holes in the title, last eight leaves with small neat
strengthening at the fore-edge just touching a few letters, the
usual light browning and staining to the text. A very good, quite
attractive copy. In a cloth portfolio and morocco-backed
slipcase. $6500
The first substantial book printed in German type in
America, preceded only by a few pamphlets and small books. The
Weyrauchs Hügel was printed for the Ephrata Brethren of
Pennsylvania and contains hymns sung at their cloister. Its
publication led to a well-known dispute between Saur and Conrad
Beissel, the religious leader in Ephrata, and many copies were
purportedly ordered burned. Hildeburn in 1885 wrote, "As the
edition was small and the book was in common use for devotional
purposes, it has become extremely scarce, nearly all of the few
known copies being imperfect." While modern scholarship would
temper Hildeburn's appraisal somewhat, this is still essentially
the earliest obtainable German-American imprint, and most of the
recorded copies are indeed not beautiful. German Language
Printing 17 notes two minor variants, of which the present
copy is variant A. An excellent copy of an important book in the
early American printing canon as well as a cornerstone work in
early American hymnology. Hildeburn 617; Seidensticker p. 11;
Reichmann 11; Evans 4466.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, IN A LOVELY CONTEMPORARY
BINDING
56. GODWIN, WILLIAM. Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and its
Influence on Morals and Happiness. Philadelphia: Bioren and
Madan, 1796. 2 vols., 12mo. xvi, [1], 22-362 p.; viii, 400 p.
Contemporary mottled sheep, spines with red title labels and dark
green volume-number labels with gilt ovals. Quarter-sized piece
torn from one front endpaper, one gathering slightly pulled,
occasional very light scattered foxing, but a fine, clean copy in
lovely period bindings. Quite unusual in this condition. $2600
First American edition of Godwin's most famous work.
Originally published in 1793 and revised in 1796, the
Enquiry "was one of the earliest, the clearest, and most
absolute theoretical expressions of socialist and anarchist
doctrines. Godwin believed that the motives of all human action
were subject to reason, that reason taught benevolence, and that
therefore all rational creatures could live in harmony without
laws and institutions...." (PMM 243) Evans 30493.
GRAY'S ELEGY: A FINE FIRST EDITION
57. [GRAY, THOMAS]. An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard.
London: For R. Dodsley; and sold by M. Cooper, 1751. 4to. 11 p.
Full black crushed levant morocco by Zaehnsdorf (very lightly
rubbed at extremities). A fine copy, with no loss of punched-through type. Bookplates. $15,000
First edition of one of the greatest poems in the English
language. Begun in 1742, Gray's superb meditative poem had
circulated freely in manuscript after its completion in 1750,
though Gray steadfastly resisted publication. When he learned
that William Owen, editor of the Magazine of Magazines,
planned to print the poem and identify its author, Gray wrote
Horace Walpole on 12 February 1751: "I have but one bad Way left
to escape the Honour they would inflict on me & therefore am
obliged to desire you would make Dodsley print it immediately . .
. from your Copy but without my Name." The poem was rushed into
print in no more than six days, accounting for the faulty
presswork that causes punched-through letters on the title and
the final leaf of text in many copies. There is no loss of any
letters in this lovely copy. Grolier (English) 49; Hayward 173;
Rothschild 1056; Northup 492.
A PRISTINE COPY OF THE FIRST PRINTED ACCOUNTOF A
VOYAGE TO AFRICA BY AN AMERICAN
58. HAWKINS, JOSEPH. A History of a Voyage to the Coast of Africa,
and Travels into the Interior of that Country; Containing
Particular Descriptions of the Climate and Inhabitants, and
Interesting Particulars Concerning the Slave Trade.
Philadelphia: Printed for the author, by S. C. Ustick, & Co.,
1797. 12mo. 179, [1] p. Engraved frontis. Contemporary mottled
sheep. Minor paper defect on A2, else a pristine copy--nearly as
fresh and bright as the day it was bound. $4500
First edition of the first printed account of a voyage to
Africa by an American, and a superlative copy. Hawkins sailed
from Charleston in early December 1793 and reached the coast of
Africa in mid-January 1794. A large part of his travels was in
the land of the Ibo, in West Africa. The Ibos were then at war
with the Gallas, and Hawkins devotes a considerable amount of
description to this conflict. He remained in Africa for a year
and a half, and he describes the culture of the tribes he saw,
their habits and customs, and the geography of the parts of the
country through which he passed. He comments extensively on the
slave trade, and before leaving Africa his ship acquired a cargo
of slaves to be brought to America and sold.
Hawkins became blind as a result of a disease acquired
during his travels, and he published this book in an effort to
support himself. The frontispiece depicts the blind Hawkins
seated in a library, recounting the events of his travels to a
friend. Some copies of the book are known with an inserted
copyright leaf at the end. The work was copyrighted in January
1797 and advertised for sale in the Philadelphia and New York
newspapers immediately thereafter, probably indicating that the
book was printed and bound prior to being entered for copyright,
and the copyright leaf was a later insertion. The narrative was
apparently popular, as a second edition was printed in Troy, New
York, later in 1797. Evans 32239; Smith, American Travellers
Abroad, H-53; Gaskill, Imprints from the Press of Stephen
C. Ustick, 57.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH
59. HENNEPIN, LOUIS. A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America,
Extending above Four Thousand Miles, between New France and New
Mexico.... London: For M. Bentley, J. Tonson [&c.], 1698.
[22], 243, [33], 228 p. Engraved fore-title, 5 (of 6) folding
plates. Lacking the two maps and one plate. Contemporary calf,
early rebacking (hinges and corners worn). Text dampstained.
Thus, $2200
First edition in English, the "Tonson" issue. An imperfect
copy, lacking the two maps and one plate, of one of the classic
accounts of American exploration. Howes H416; European
Americana 698/100; Wing H1451.
RICHARD HOE'S LIBRARY CATALOGUE, WITH HOE FAMILY
ASSOCIATIONS
60. HOE, RICHARD M. The Literature of Printing. A Catalogue of the
Library Illustrative of the History and Art of Typography,
Chalcography and Lithography of Richard M. Hoe. London, 1877.
[4], 149, [2] p. Frontis. of a rotary printing press.
Contemporary cloth, decorated endpapers. Front inner hinge split
open, crown of spine (1/4") torn off. $900
Privately printed at the Chiswick Press. A presentation
copy, inscribed by Hoe to his cousin, Samuel J. Barrows. On the
two front blanks are pasted (a bit artlessly) pieces of blue
paper containing Hoe family notes in the hand of Richard Hoe's
great-great granddaughter, who purchased this copy from Warren
Howell in 1945 and gave it to her mother, from whom it descended
within the Hoe family. Richard Hoe was the inventor of the rotary
printing press and a book collector in his own right, as this
catalogue attests. His son, Robert Hoe, was the more famous book
collector, founder of the Grolier Club, &c. The original
recipient, Samuel J. Barrows (1845-1909), was a distinguished
clergyman, reformer, and author. Left in poverty by the death of
his father, Barrows at age nine went to work as an errand boy in
his cousin Richard Hoe's printing-press establishment.
The elder Hoe's library, consisting of the books in this
catalogue plus some additions, was sold by Bangs in 1887. This
catalogue is scarce: only two copies have appeared at major
auction in the past 28 years, both of which had defective
endpapers and inner hinges. Bigmore & Wyman I, 332.
HOOKE'S MICROSCOPIC DISCOVERIES
61. HOOKE, ROBERT. Micrographia Restaurata: or, The Copper-Plates
of Dr. Hooke's Wonderful Discoveries by the Microscope, Reprinted
and Fully Explained.... London: For John Bowles, R. Dodsley,
and John Cuff, 1745. Folio. iv, 65, [5] p. 33 engraved plates (3
folding). Contemporary calf, very skillfully rebacked to style
retaining original spine label. Both text and plates moderately
and uniformly foxed throughout. Armorial bookplate of Wm.
Huskison, Esqr. $7500
A condensed edition of Hooke's landmark 1665 work in
microscopy, which contained the first illustrations of cells.
Keynes (Hooke), 10.
INSCRIBED BY HUGHES
62. HUGHES, LANGSTON. The Big Sea. New York, 1945. [12], 335,
[1] p. Cloth. A very nice copy in a slightly chipped and creased
dust jacket. $375
Later printing. A presentation copy, inscribed by Hughes in
Akron in 1948.
FIRST PRINTED REPRESENTATIONS OF THE
CONSTELLATIONS
63. HYGINUS, Caius Julius. Poeticon astronomicon. Ed. Jacobus
Sentinus and Johannes Santritter. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 14
October 1482. Chancery 4to (203 x 148 mm.). [58] leaves incl.
blank a1. 31 lines. Types 3:91G (text), 7:92G (heading on a2r,
title printed in red). Woodcut initials. 47 half-page woodcuts,
probably designed by Santritter, of the constellations and
planets personified. Small worm hole in a1-b1 affecting a few
letters, stamp washed from lower blank margin of a2, a few very
faint spots and stains. Modern tan goatskin binding, skillfully
done in antique style. A very good, attractive copy. $28,000
First illustrated edition, and the first book to contain
printed representations of the constellations. The 47 delightful
woodcuts--40 constellations and 7 planets--are attributed to the
bookseller and publisher Johannes Lucilius Santritter. The
woodcuts derive from illustrations in medieval manuscripts and
depict animals as well as humans in medieval costume. The text,
first published in an unillustrated edition in Ferrara in 1475,
is based on Greek sources, particularly the Phaenomena of
Aratos. BMC V, 286; Goff H-560; HC 9062*; Klebs 527.2; Sander
3472.
IRELAND . . . HANDSOMELY ILLUSTRATED
64. (IRELAND). Carr, John. The Stranger in Ireland; or, A Tour in
the Southern and Western Parts of that Country, in the Year
1805. London: Richard Phillips, 1806. 4to. xiv, [2], 530, [2]
p. 16 sepia-tinted aquatint plates (several folding), engraved
map of the lakes of Killarney. An uncut copy, in modern morocco-
backed paper-covered boards. Endpapers a bit foxed, but
internally clean and fresh. A large, unpressed copy, retaining
most of the original tissue guards. Armorial bookplate of John
Towneley; modern book label. $2000
First edition of one of the most attractively illustrated
books on Ireland, with beautiful aquatint plates. Carr begins
with several chapters on Dublin, then proceeds to Wicklow,
Kildare, Limerick, Killarney, Cork, and Kilkenny, commenting on
the people, the scenery, the politics, the economy, &c. Carr's
work proved highly popular and it was reprinted several times in
small-format, unillustrated editions. Abbey, Scenery,
455.
FIRST EDITION
65. ISHERWOOD, CHRISTOPHER. The Memorial. Portrait of a
Family. London: Hogarth Press, 1932. 294 p. Cloth. In a very
nice dust jacket, lightly rubbed at extremities, tiny chip
missing from top edge of rear panel. $475
First edition.
WONDERFUL PRINT SATIRIZING THE CITIZENS OF ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA
66. (JACKSON, ANDREW). Satirical etching, Johnny Bull and the
Alexandrians (Philadelphia: William Charles, n.d., but ca.
1814). 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. including half-inch-plus margins
beyond the plate mark on all four sides. Black and white, with
sparse original hand coloring. In remarkably fine, fresh
condition. A beautiful example. $4800
A scathing satirical print ridiculing the citizens of
Alexandria, Virginia, for their feeble resistance to the British
capture of the city in 1814. At the center is a portly John Bull,
brandishing a lengthy list entitled "Terms of Capitulation" at
two cowering Alexandrians at the left, who plead "Pray Mr. Bull
don't be too hard on us--You know we were always friendly, even
in the time of our Embargo." John Bull demands "I must have all
your Flour--All your Tobacco--All your Provisions--All your
Ships--All your Merchandize--Everything except your Porter and
Perry--keep them out of my sight, I've had enough of them
already" (a delightful punning reference to Commodore Oliver
Hazard Perry and Captain David Dixon Porter of the U.S. Navy). On
the right a beaming British soldier and sailor carry off barrels
of Virginia rum and call out "Push on Jack, the yankeys are not
all so Cowardly as these Fellows here..." Another says "Huzza
boys!!! More Rum more Tobacco."
William Charles (1776-1820) was the leading caricaturist of
the War of 1812. From his print- and bookshop in Philadelphia he
issued caricature prints as well as a series of chapbooks. Frank
Weitenkamph, in American Graphic Art (1924) wrote: "The
most noteworthy caricatures of the War of 1812 were prints by
William Charles ... they have a rough humor that no doubt made
them popular." Murrell I, p. 88.
LA SALLE'S EXPEDITION TO THE
MISSISSIPPI
67. JOUTEL, HENRI. A Journal of the Last Voyage Perform'd by
Monsr. de la Sale, to the Gulph of Mexico, to Find Out the Mouth
of the Missisipi River.... London: For A. Bell, B. Lintott,
and J. Baker, 1714. 8vo. [2], xxi, [9], 191, 194-205, [5] p.
Engraved folding map (short closed tear). Contemporary calf.
Extremities rubbed, top of spine a bit worn, else a lovely
untouched copy, the text clean and fresh and entirely unfoxed.
Peter A. Porter bookplate and Wolfgang Herz label. $15,000
First edition in English; originally published in Paris the
previous year. The map is entitled "A New Map of the Country of
Louisiana and of Ye River Missisipi in North America..." and
depicts the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, parts of Texas, and the
eastern coast of America. In the upper corner is a lovely
vignette of Niagara Falls. Joutel's journal is one of the best
accounts of La Salle's ill-fated expedition to establish a
settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi River and the short-
lived colony in Texas which the party used for two years as a
base for further exploration. La Salle was eventually
assassinated by some of his own men, and Joutel and others
succeeded in returning to Canada. European Americana
714/40; Church 859; Howes J-266(b); Wagner, Spanish
Southwest, 79b; Streeter Sale 112.
18TH-CENTURY NEW YORK JUDAICA
68. (JUDAICA). Levi, David. A Defence of the Old Testament, in a
Series of Letters Addressed to Thomas Paine. New York:
William A. Davis, for Naphtali Judah, bookseller, 1797. 240 p.
Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in period style with
original spine label retained. Lower margin of S3 torn away,
costing several words, occasional minor spotting, else a very
good and attractive copy. $900
First American edition, and one of the first books by a
Jewish author to be sold by a Jewish bookseller in America. David
Levi (1742-1801) was an English Jew, distinguist Hebraist,
translator, and Old Testament scholar. Here he replies to Thomas
Paine's deistic Age of Reason. Napthali Judah (1773?-1855)
was one of the first Jewish booksellers and publishers in New
York, establishing his business in 1795. Rosenbach 114; Evans
32376.
EARLY AMERICAN JUVENILE ABOUT A DOG
69. (JUVENILE). [Kendall, Edward Augustus]. Keeper's Travels in
Search of his Master. Philadelphia: Johnson & Warner [Lydia
R. Bailey, pr.], 1808. 12mo. 87, [3] p. Wood-engraved
frontispiece depicting a boy carrying his dog through a
snowstorm. Contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, red roan
spine. Covers rubbed, usual light foxing, but a tight and lovely
copy. With an 1809 ownership signature of Joseph Moore. $400
Early American edition of this endearing dog story for
children, first published by Elizabeth Newbery in 1798. This is
one of the first products from the press of Philadelphia's Lydia
Bailey, whose output spanned the years 1808 through 1861. S&S
15353; Welch 723.4; Rosenbach 370.
1799 KENTUCKY SESSION LAWS
70. KENTUCKY. LAWS. [Acts Passed at the First Session of the
Eighth General Assembly, for the Commonwealth of Kentucky....
Frankfort: William Hunter, 1800.] [3]-226 p. Lacks title
leaf. Later cloth-backed marbled boards, printed paper spine
label. Piece torn from corner of K1, side notes cropped on
several leaves toward rear, final leaf 2E2 (final page of index)
torn and repaired at fore-edge, costing a small amount of text.
Embossed early ex-library blindstamp on covers. James Allen's
copy, signed on the first page of text. $1400
Laws passed at the December 1799 session of the legislature.
Eighteenth-century Kentucky imprints are rarely available in the
trade. McMurtrie, Kentucky, 132.
EARLY AMERICAN FICTION AS FACT
71. KER, HENRY. Travels through the Western Interior of the United
States, from the Year 1808 up to the Year 1816. With a Particular
Description of a Great Part of Mexico, or New-Spain....
Elizabethtown, N.J.: The author, 1816. 372 p. Neat modern calf-
backed marbled paper-covered boards, in period style. Some
occasional spotting and light overall toning, but an unusually
nice copy of a book printed on an inferior quality paper and
usually found in poor condition. $1200
First and only edition. Ker's purported travels took him
"down the Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky rivers to New Orleans,
thence to Jamaica, the West Indies, back to New Orleans, up the
Red River, south to Mexico City, then by circuitous trips through
all the Southern states ... He spent three years with thirteen
tribes of Indians...."--Clark II 156. Despite citations in all of
the standard Americana bibliographies, the work is largely, if
not entirely, fiction. No information on Ker has been found, and
the name may simply be the pseudonym of an enterprising writer.
From a reading of the text alone it is impossible to distinguish
between what the author may have seen or experienced himself, and
what he borrowed from other sources. None of his descriptions,
except of his own adventures, is original. Writers like Melish
(who subscribed for a copy) had traveled through some of the same
regions, and the descriptions of towns are lifted almost verbatim
from gazetteers and geographies of the period. For an essay on
the book and on this genre of writing, see Felcone, New Jersey
Books, 819. About one in five copies, including this copy,
was issued without the two leaves of subscribers' names at the
end, and these were almost certainly the copies sold by
Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey, who subscribed for 200
copies of the edition and would not have wanted subscribers'
names in his copies. When taking an appreciable part of an
edition from a country printer, Carey often had the subscribers'
names omitted from his copies. Howes K101; Streeter,
Texas, 1058; Wagner-Camp 13a; Field 821; Rader 2163; S&S
37997.
FIRST EDITION OF LA FONTAINE'S GREAT BOOK OF FABLES,
PRESENTED BY ROBERT HOE TO HIS GRANDDAUGHTER
72. LA FONTAINE, JEAN DE. Fables Choisies, Mises en Vers.
Paris: Denys Thierry, [31 March] 1668. 4to (223 x 168 mm.). [58],
284, [2] p. Leaf o2 is present as both the cancellans and the
cancellandum. Roman type. Woodcut and typographic head- and
tailpieces, floriated initials. Illustrated with 118 etchings by
François Chauveau (56/7 x 72/3 mm.). Crushed green morocco, gilt
triple rule outer border, spine and wide turn-ins gilt, all edges
gilt, by Lortic, fils (spine and extremities faded to brown,
front hinge worn). Neat repairs to five leaves (one touching two
letters), very light overall toning. Robert Hoe's copy, inscribed
in pencil on the front flyleaf "Thyrza from Grandpa Hoe." $30,000
First edition of La Fontaine's first six books of fables,
written and illustrated for the entertainment and instruction of
the seven year-old heir to the French throne. Two centuries
later, presented by the great American book collector Robert Hoe
to his granddaughter, Thyrza Benson, for her own entertainment
and instruction.
La Fontaine's "Fables ... have been read, learned,
and recited by French children and adults for three centuries ...
La Fontaine is one of France's great poets and a dedicated
artist" (Oxford Companion to French Literature). "Ce chef-
d'oeuvre lui vaut de marcher de pair avec les représentants
majeurs du classicisme français. Le succès, mérité, fut immédiat"
(En Français dans le Texte). Rochambeau, Bibliographie
des Oeuvres de la Fontaine, 1; Reed, Claude Barbin,
Libraire de Paris, p. 24 and no. 101; En Français dans le
Texte, 105; Fabula docet 47.
EARLY WORK ON MUSIC THEORY: 1551
73. LEFEVRE D'ETAPLES, JACQUES. Musica libris quatuor
demonstrata. Paris: Guillaume Cavellat, 1551. 4to. 44 leaves.
Cavellat's large woodcut printer's device on title. Text
diagrams, tables, woodcut initials. Early 19th-century calf,
gilt; neatly rebacked retaining original spine. Title very
slightly soiled, faint marginal foxing. Modern book label. $4800
First separate edition, and first illustrated edition, of
one of the earliest printed music theory books. Lefèvre (ca.
1460-1536; also known by his Latin name Faber Stapulensis) was
one of the great French humanists. He developed a close working
relationship with Henri Estienne and contributed, in one way or
another, to a great many Estienne productions. Lefèvre's work on
music theory first appeared as one part of a larger collected
work printed in Paris in 1496. That edition is now essentially
unobtainable, and a subsequent 1514 Estienne edition, Elementa
musicalia, is very rare. Neither is illustrated. Lefèvre was
a staunch defender of ancient music and played a key role in
transmitting early Greek music theory to the sixteenth century.
Adams F-27; BMC, French, p. 259; Renouard,
Cavellat, 32.
THE ELABORATE THWAITES EDITION: ONE OF 200
COPIES
74. (LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION). Original Journals of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 ... Edited, with Introduction,
Notes, and Index, by Reuben Gold Thwaites. New York: Dodd,
Mead & Co., 1904. Large quarto. 7 vols. extended to 14, plus
atlas volume. With a profusion of plates, facsimiles, folding
maps, &c. Green cloth. Bindings moderately worn at the
extremities, cloth lightly discolored as usual, but a very good
set, with the text largely unopened. $15,000
One of 200 numbered copies on Van Gelder handmade paper. The
elaborate Thwaites edition, incorporating the original manuscript
journals owned by the American Philosophical Society together
with notebooks, letters, maps, and other primary source material
including the journals of Charles Floyd and Joseph Whitehouse.
With a chronological bibliography of printed Lewis-and-Clarkiana
by Victor Hugo Paltsits. A very good copy of a work usually found
in very worn and faded bindings. Howes L-320 ("c").
LEWIS AND CLARK
75. LEWIS, MERIWETHER, and WILLIAM CLARK. Travels to the Source of
the Missouri River, and Across the American Continent to the
Pacific Ocean. Performed ... in the Years 1804, 1805, and
1806. London: For Longman [et al], 1817. 3 vols. xxvi,
[2], 411 p.; xii, 434 p.; xii, 394 p. Large folding map, 5
plates. Modern calf-backed marbled paper-covered boards, very
skillfully executed in period style. Plates considerably foxed
and offset onto facing pages, old tears to map skillfully
remended on verso, otherwise a very handsome copy, in a correct
period-style binding. With the contemporary signature "Colonel
Forbes" in each copy. $14,000
Reissue of the English edition of 1815, with only minor
typographical alterations. The greatest of all American
exploration narratives, here in a later English edition, with an
enlarged and improved map. Wagner-Camp 13:4; Howes L-317.
PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY LISTER
76. LISTER, MARTIN. Conchyliorum Bivalvium utriusque aquae
exercitatio anatomica tertia. Huic accedit dissertatio
medicinalis de calculo humano. London: Sumptibus authoris
impressa, 1696. 4to. xliii, [1], 173 p; 51 p. 10 engraved plates
(4 folding). Complete with the terminal blank Z4 in the first
work. The Dissertatio has its own title page and
pagination. Contemporary sprinkled calf, very skillfully rebacked
in period style. Small early shelf mark in red ink on endpaper
and on title, minor paper flaw in S2 just grazing catchword, very
faint foxing in fore-edge. A very lovely copy, with the text and
plates clean and fresh. Armorial bookplate of "A. Gifford D.D. of
the Museum." $10,000
First edition. A presentation copy from Lister, inscribed on
the front flyleaf "For Mr. Dalone by his most humble servant M
Lister." Lister's beautifully illustrated privately printed
treatise on bivalves, which is the third part of his
Exercitatio Anatomica. Each part was issued as a separate
imprint. Lister (1639?-1712) was an English physician who made
important contributions to medicine as well as to natural
history, and zoology in particular. He was also an antiquarian
and an avid shell collector. Nissen 2526 (3 parts); Osler 3253;
Wellcome III p. 529; Wing L-2516.
18TH-CENTURY PRACTICAL PRINTER'S
MANUAL
77. LUCKOMBE, PHILIP. The History and Art of Printing. In Two
Parts.... London: By W. Adlard and J. Browne, for J. Johnson,
1771. [12], 502, [4] p. Frontis., illus., facsims. Contemporary
calf, skillfully rebacked in period style. Gathering 2U a trifle
browned, edges of frontispiece lightly smudged, else a lovely
copy. Bookplate. $1100
First edition, second issue, with the complete title page
acknowledging Luckombe's authorship. The first part of Luckombe's
work is a history of printing. Included is a 37-page Caslon type
catalogue, "Specimen of Printing Types, by William Caslon, Letter
Founder, London." The second and more important part is a
practical printer's manual, discussing in considerable detail and
with illustrations the equipment and operation of a printing
office. This is the finest single work for gaining an
understanding of how practical printing was done in mid-18th
century England (and America). A handsome copy of an important
book. Bigmore & Wyman I, 477.
LUDOLF'S HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA: 1682
78. LUDOLF, HIOB. A New History of Ethiopia. Being a Full and
Accurate Description of the Kingdom of Abessinia, vulgarly,
though erroneously called the Empire of Prester John....
London: For Samuel Smith, 1682. Folio. [8], 88, 151-370, 375-
398p. 8 engraved plates (7 folding), engraved plate of the
Ethiopic alphabet, and a folding genealogical table. Contemporary
or early eighteenth-century calf (front hinge cracked but held by
cords, corners worn. Some light browning, but a very good copy.
With the signatures of Edmund and Rufus Marsden, the latter dated
1762; Herz book label. $2200
First edition in English. Ludolf (1624-1704) was a German
orientalist and Ethiopic scholar. Having learned the Ethiopian
language from a monk about 1650, the entered the service of the
duke of Saxe-Gotha, where he remained for twenty-five years. He
devoted the remainder of his life to scholarly pursuits,
including an unsuccessful attempt to establish a trade between
Ethiopia and England. His history of Ethiopia, originally
published in Frankfurt the previous year, remained the standard
study of the region for well over a century. Some copies contain
a folding map in place of the plate of the alphabet. No authority
has been found to indicate priority. Wing L-3468.
TWO LUTHER COMMENTARIES IN ENGLISH
79. LUTHER, MARTIN. A Commentarie upon the Fifteene Psalmes,
Called Psalmi Graduum.... London: By Richard Field, 1615.
4to. [10], 90, 93-318 p. + final blank X4. Black letter.
[Bound with:] A Commentarie of M. Doctor Martin Luther
upon the Epistle of S. Paul to the Galathians.... London: By
Richard Field, 1616. 4to. [4], 296 leaves. Black letter. The two
works bound together in 18th-century calf, very neatly rebacked
retaining the original spine label. Title page of first work
soiled, minor dampstains on first few leaves, else a very good
copy. Armorial bookplate of John Brogden. $2800
Two early English translations of Luther's commentaries on
the Bible, originally published in Latin. STC 16976, 16972.
SLAVERY IN AMERICA AND JAMAICA
80. [MACAULAY, ZACHARY.] Negro Slavery; or, A View of Some of the
More Prominent Features of that State of Society, as it Exists in
the United States of America and in the Colonies of the West
Indies, especially in Jamaica. London: For Hatchard and Son
... and J. and A. Arch, 1823. [4], 118 p. Attractive modern half
calf, by Bayntun. A fine, fresh copy inside and out. Lord
Palmerston's copy, with his signature on the title. $900
First edition. A prominent abolitionist's account of slavery
in America and in the West Indies, particularly Jamaica. Macaulay
resided in Jamaica as a young man and, in later life, in Sierra
Leone, where he eventually became governor. This copy belonged to
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865), whose own
views on slavery varied widely. Howes N34; Sabin 52269.
100 HANDCOLORED PLATES
81. MARTYN, WILLIAM FREDERIC. A New Dictionary of Natural History;
or, Compleat Universal Display of Animated Nature.... London:
For Harrison and Co., 1785 [-1787]. 2 vols. folio. Unpaginated.
100 engraved handcolored plates, with tissue guards. No half
titles. Nineteenth-century cloth-covered boards, green russia
leather spines. Plates 78 and 84 with marginal tears (not
crossing images), tear and separation at bottom of one hinge,
another hinge with a small split, extremities worn, else a clean
and entirely unfoxed copy. $5500
First edition. The plates, most of which contain multiple
images, are after Moses Harris and others and are based in large
part on the collections in the Leverian Museum, which was
established in London a decade earlier. Nissen, ZBI, 2729;
Freeman 2510; Wood p. 453.
INCREASE MATHER SERMON: BOSTON, 1718
82. MATHER, INCREASE. A Sermon Wherein is Shewed, I. That the
Ministers of the Gospel Need ... Preached at Roxbury, October 29.
1718 when Mr. Thomas Walter was Ordained a Pastor in that
Church.... Boston: By S. Kneeland, for J. Edwards, 1718. [2],
ii, i, 2-35, [1] p. Later full calf (spine label missing). Bottom
margin cut into, with loss of the last line of the imprint on the
title page and several last lines within the text. Thus, $800
Increase Mather's sermon at the ordination of his grandson,
Thomas Walter. The right hand of fellowship, pp. 27-35, by Cotton
Mather. Evans 1982; Holmes, Increase Mather, 118.
ROBERT HOE'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND WILLIE
MAUGHAM
83. MAUGHAM, W. SOMERSET. The Thyrza Benson Fowler collection of
Somerset Maugham, consisting of nine Maugham letters totalling
nineteen pages, three inscribed Maugham books, and several
photographs. The collection, $8000
Thyrza Benson (1887-1964) was a granddaughter of the great
American book collector Robert Hoe, whose family fortune derived
from the invention and manufacture of rotary and cylinder
printing presses. Thyrza and her husband, the distinguished
aviator, businessman, and civic leader Harold S. Fowler (1887-
1957), were at the pinnacle of American society. Between
entertaining at their homes in Southampton and Palm Beach, and
frequenting the grand watering holes of the world, their lives
were a whirlwind of social activity with the rich and famous. One
of Thyrza's close friends was Somerset Maugham, or "Willie" as
she always called him.
The collection consists of nine good letters, 1946 to 1961,
totalling nineteen full pages. The content is largely social and
personal rather than literary. Maugham comments on many social
and literary figures, politics, reconstruction after the war, his
villa, his heavy writing schedule, his views on Catholicism and
Protestantism and virgin birth, &c. Also many comments on his
daughter Liza, including one very good letter in which he
mentions having had long talks with Liza about her life, her
loves, and her future. She wants to marry again, but is not in
love with any of the pretenders to her hand (English & American,
two of the latter "immensely, yes immensely rich") and asks
Maugham if she should be content "to marry someone she likes. How
can I answer that? I think marriage is such a difficult state
that it is intolerable to be on those terms with anyone you are
not in love with. But how long does love last? Two or three or
four years; and at the end of that time are you any better off
because you have been in love? Perhaps. Of course I think these
young women ask a great deal . . . & what do they offer in
return? . . ."
Accompanying the letters are three inscribed books
(Summing Up, Hour Before the Dawn, Then and
Now), first or first American editions, all comfortably worn,
each with a lengthy and warm inscription by Maugham. Also several
snapshots, including one of Maugham at the door of his villa
taken by Georgia Sitwell and others of the villa and its
occupants. Also an envelope of newspaper and magazine clippings
about Maugham.
A two-page description of the collection is available on
request.
THE GREATEST AMERICAN CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICAL
SCIENCE
84. (MEDICINE). Beaumont, William. Experiments and Observations on
the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion.
Plattsburgh [N.Y.]: Printed by F. P. Allen, 1833. 8vo. 280 p. 3
woodcut illustrations. Original tan paper-covered boards, purple-
brown linen spine. Rebacked, retaining 95% of the original spine
but largely obscuring the original printed paper spine label.
Gathering 2L browned, as always, the usual scattered foxing, else
a very good copy of a fragile book. $3000
First edition of perhaps the greatest American contribution
to medical science. Alexis St. Martin, a French Canadian trapper,
had sustained a severe gunshot wound of the abdomen. To keep the
stomach's contents from spilling out, Beaumont initially capped
it over with compresses. But as healing progressed, the stomach
lining hypertrophied and grew some extra thickness at the
opening, so that, by pouting outwards, or prolapsing, it acted as
a partial stopper (as shown in the detail of plate III). The
remainder of the closure was maintained by the natural muscular
elasticity of the stomach walls. As a result, the stomach opening
could be manipulated, the pouting-out mucosa compressed or moved
aside or pushed inwards, and, for the first time in medical
history, Beaumont could actually observe the processes of human
digestion. In several years of studying St. Martin, Beaumont
established the chemical nature of digestion, recorded the
comparative rates of dissolution of foods, and noted the effects
of emotions on gastric secretion. All of these observations were
the basis of Pavlov's experiments a century later. Beaumont had
his studies printed by a country printer in Plattsburgh, New
York, a town where he had once practiced medicine. The book was
neither elegant nor well-bound, and copies that have survived in
good condition are rare. Grolier American One Hundred, 38 ("a
book that pushed back the frontier of the mind" preface);
Grolier, Medicine, 61; Howes B-291 ("Most important
American contribution to medical science"); Wellcome II p. 123;
Garrison-Morton 989; Grolier/Horblit 10; Dibner, Heralds of
Science, 130; Norman 152; Cordasco 30-0056.
FIRST SCIENTIFIC ACCOUNT OF THE EAR
85. (MEDICINE). Du Verney, Joseph Guichard. Tractatus de organo
auditus, continens structuram, usum et morbos omnium auris
partium. Nuremberg: Johann Zieger, 1684. 4to. [12], 48 p. 16
engraved folding plates. Nineteenth century paper wrappers. Plate
16 neatly backed, title very lightly soiled, else a very good
copy. Joseph Friedrich Blumenbach's copy, with his signature on
the verso of the title page. In a fine morocco-backed clamshell
box. $4800
First edition in Latin, following the original edition (in
French) published the previous year in Paris. Garrison-Morton
calls Du Verney's work the "first scientific account of the
structure, function and diseases of the ear." Du Verney showed
the true function of the Eustachian tube, and correctly explained
the mechanism of bone conduction, giving an accurate account of
the bony labyrinth. Joseph Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) was
an influential zoologist and anthropologist. Wellcome II p. 506;
Krivatsy/NLM 3591.
MAD DOGS AND AMERICAN MEDICINE
86. (MEDICINE) Thacher, James. Observations on Hydrophobia,
Produced by the Bite of a Mad Dog, or other Rabid Animal....
Plymouth, Mass.: Joseph Avery, 1812. 301, [1] p. Hand-colored
plate. Contemporary mottled sheep. Foxed (as this book always
is), but a very attractive copy, the binding being particularly
nice. $500
First edition. Thacher advocated the use of the plant
"skull-cap" to cure hydrophobia, and the plate is a hand-colored
depiction of the plant. The cure, however, eventually proved to
be unsuccessful. Austin 1880; Cushing T40; Waller 4089; Heirs of
Hippocrates 700.
THE SURGICAL SYDENHAM
87. (MEDICINE). Wiseman, Richard. Eight Chirurgical Treatises, on
these following heads, viz. I. Of Tumours. II. Of Ulcers. III. Of
Diseases of the Anus. IV. Of the King's Evil. V. Of Wounds. VI.
Of Gun-Shot Wounds. VII. Of Fractures and Luxations. VIII. Of the
Lues Venerea. London: For B. T. and L. M. and sold by W.
Keblewhite, and J. Jones, 1697. Folio. [14], 563, [14] p.,
including the half title A1. Eighteenth-century paneled calf,
very skillfully rebacked retaining original gilt spine, period-
style label. Tiny (half-inch) repaired tear in lower margin of
third leaf, else a remarkably fine, fresh copy. With the
contemporary ownership signature of Stewart Sparkes on half
title. $3200
Third edition of an important medical text first published
in 1676. "Wiseman is our surgical Sydenham. He by his skill and
personality helped to raise the whole status of surgery. He was
the first of the great British surgeons." (Power, 198-201, quoted
in ONDB) This is Wiseman's chief work, based on his experiences
tending the Royalist armies. "For each topic Wiseman examines the
anatomy, pathology, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis and
management, adding selected case histories or observations from
his vast experience. These personal observations, some brief and
some in extensive detail, concern 660 individual patients, a
weight of evidence which contrasts sharply with the absence or
plagiarism of case histories in many contemporaneous
publications. These case histories constitute a rich and unique
historical record of surgical reality in seventeenth-century
Britain...." (ONDB) NLM/Krivatsy 13087; Wing 3106A. See G-M 5573
and Norman 2253.
A CLASSIC OF AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY, WITH 277
HANDCOLORED PLATES
88. MICHAUX, FRANÇOIS A. The North American Sylva; or, A
Description of the Forest Trees of the United States, Canada, and
Nova Scotia ... [with:] THOMAS NUTTALL. The North American
Sylva ... Philadelphia, 1857. 5 vols. 277 handcolored plates.
Bound in contemporary ornately blindstamped full dark brown
morocco, spines lettered in gold, all edges gilt. Light to
moderate foxing on some plates, very light rubbing to the
extremities of the binding. A very attractive set. $6500
A classic of American natural history. Though originally
published as separate works, with Nuttall's being a continuation
of that of Michaux, the two works were combined in one edition in
1851, and reissued several times thereafter. The beautiful color
plates, many of which are after Redouté, were engraved in France
for Michaux, while Nuttall used the more modern method of
lithography. The Michaux contains 156 handcolored plates, and the
Nuttall contains 121 handcolored plates. The plates depict the
leaves, nuts, and flowers and berries of trees throughout the
continental United States and Canada. Sabin commented: "Of the
two works united, it is no exaggeration to remark that it is the
most complete work of its kind, and is a production of unrivalled
interest and beauty, giving descriptions and illustrations of all
the forest trees of North America...." Sabin 48695, 56351.
FIRST EDITION
89. MILTON, JOHN. Literae pseudo-senatus Anglicani,
Cromwellii. [Brussels?:] Impressae anno 1676. 12mo. [4], 234
p. + final blanks K10-12. Woodcut of fruit on title. Modern full
calf, very skillfully executed in period style, with original
pastedowns retained. A fine, lovely copy. $900
First edition of Milton's Latin letters of state,
distinguished by the woodcut of fruit on the title page. Wing M-
2128; Coleridge 29; Kohler 508.
FRENCH MORMON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
90. (MORMONS). Bertrand, Louis A. Mémoires d'un Mormon. Paris:
Collection Hetzel, E. Dentu, [1862]. [4], 323 p. Later half blue
morocco, original pale green wrappers bound in. A fine, bright
copy. $1000
First edition. Bertrand was the first native French Mormon
to publish an account of his conversion and experience. His work
combines the history of Joseph Smith with his own experiences in
Utah. From 1859 to 1864 Bertrand was president of the French
mission of the Mormon Church. See Mormon Historical
Studies 1 (2000), pp. 3-24, for an account of Bertrand. The
"Collection Hetzel" appears to have been co-published by E. Dentu
and by E. Jung-Treuttel, as the same sheets exist with differing
imprints. Flake 448; Streeter Sale 2307; Graff 281; Monaghan
212.
THE FIRST AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY: 1789
91. MORSE, JEDIDIAH. The American Geography; or, A View of the
Present Situation of the United States of America. Elizabeth
Town: Shepard Kollock, 1789. xii, 534, [3] p. 2 folding maps.
Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in correct period
style, rear endpaper sympathetically replaced. Light foxing and
occasional browning throughout, as usual with early American
paper, a few short splits and one map tear skillfully mended.
Twentieth-century owner's stamp at the foot of the dedication
page and on the verso of one map. Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes
bookplate. $5500
The first American geography, and an important early
American cartographical work. Jedidiah Morse was a
congregationalist minister who in 1784 published a school text,
Geography Made Easy. Two years later, he began work on a
comprehensive American geography. He sought assistance from many
distinguished Americans, including Washington and Franklin.
Governor William Livingston of New Jersey took considerable
interest in the work and made numerous contributions to the text.
Morse returned his thanks to Livingston by dedicating the book to
him. The maps were engraved by Amos Doolittle, who compiled the
map of the northern states. The map of the southern states was
compiled by Joseph Purcell and depicts the "New State of
Franklin" between present Tennessee and North Carolina. This copy
is complete including the errata leaf and directions to the
binder, leaf 3X4, and the leaf "Corrections respecting France"
tipped in at the rear. For an essay on the compilation and
publication history of this important book, see Felcone, New
Jersey Books, 147. Howes M840; Wheat & Brun 149, 491.
SECOND EDITION OF THE FIRST AMERICAN
GEOGRAPHY
92. MORSE, JEDIDIAH. The American Geography; or, A View of the
Present Situation of the United States of America.... London:
For John Stockdale, 1792. xvi, 536 p. 2 folding maps, folding
table. Contemporary mottled calf, skillfully rebacked in period
style. Both maps with a few neat and unobtrusive early repairs
(fold strengthening) on verso, else a fine copy--clean and
entirely unfoxed. $2800
Second edition of the first American geography, originally
printed in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1789. The engraved maps
depict the northern and southern parts of what then comprised the
United States, the latter including the "New State of Franklin."
Howes M840.
EVERY KNOWN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
ILLUSTRATED
93. (MUSIC). Bonanni, Filippo. Gabinetto Armonico, pieno
d'Istromenti sonori indicati, e spiegati. Rome: Giorgio
Placho, 1722. 4to. [8], 177, [9] p. Engraved frontispiece (King
David with harp), engraved fore-title, and 151 full-page engraved
plates depicting musical instruments (1 plate folding, 2 plates
unnumbered, 2 plates numbered 78). Woodcut ornaments.
Contemporary mottled vellum, early rebacking in similar vellum
(few splits in front hinge, upper cover a bit cupped). First
gathering slightly loose, lower blank margin of S4 repaired
without loss, early repair at bottom margin of plate 137,
occasional light spotting and soiling. A slightly worn but very
good copy, with all plates fine and clean. Cloth portfolio and
slipcase. $7800
First edition, second issue, with text added to the index
and additional plates beyond the 136 called for in the index.
Bonanni's profusely illustrated work is the earliest attempt to
describe and illustrate every known musical instrument, both
ancient and modern. The text and plates are divided into three
classes--wind, string, and percussion. The individual playing
each instrument is dressed in the costume of the period or
region. Numerous African instruments are depicted, as are example
from the New World, such as the "Donna Brasiliano" and the
"Trombo della Florida." The folding plate depicts the elaborate
multi-keyboard "Galleria armonica" in the Rome palace of Signor
Verospi. Hirsch IV, 1476; Brunet I, 1086.
THE DEATH OF NELSON DEPICTED
94. (NELSON, HORATIO, VISCOUNT NELSON). Reverse glass mezzotint,
Admiral Lord Nelson the Hero of the Nile ... Falling into the
Arms of Victory in the ever memorable Engagement with the
combined Fleets of France and Spain off Trafalgar, on the 21
Octr. 1805. London: Waller, Fox & Wood, 1806. Colored
engraving, transferred to glass. 10 x 14 in. (sight), in a
contemporary frame possibly made from the wood of a ship from the
battle. Partial loss of publisher's imprint at bottom, else very
good. $1200
Issued the year following Nelson's heroic death at the
Battle of Trafalgar, the print depicts Nelson--weak but ever
elegant--being supported by one allegorical figure of Victory
while another holds a hero's wreath over his head. To the side is
the badly damaged Santisima Trinidad sinking before other
British and French ships. Nelson memorial objects were
occasionally made from or with wood taken from a Nelson s ship,
and this period frame certainly appears to be made from recycled
wood.
BOUND WITH RITCH'S ACCOUNT
95. NEW MEXICO (TERRITORY). Official Reports of the Territory of
New Mexico, for the Years 1882 and 1883. Santa Fe: New
Mexican Review Co., 1884. Various paginations. Folding table.
[Bound with:] William G. Ritch, Illustrated New
Mexico. Santa Fe, 1883. 140, [1] p. Illus. Plates, including
a folding birdseye view of Santa Fe and a folding map of the
territory. Printed wrappers (chipped at extremities, with two
corners missing). $350
Individual reports of the bureau of immigration, the
treasurer, the territorial librarian, the adjutant general, &c.,
bound with the the fourth edition of William Ritch's important
promotional report on the advantages of the territory of New
Mexico. Ritch's report is profusely illustrated with text
illustrations and full-page plates, as well as a birdseye view
and a map.
THE OWL
96. (OWLS). [Goddaeus, Conradus]. Laus Ululae. The Praise of Owls.
An Oration to the Conscript Fathers, and Patrons of Owls. Written
in Latin, by Curtius Jaele. Translated by a Canary Bird.
London: Printed [by E. Curll] in the year 1727 [i.e., 1726]. [2],
iv, 101 p. Engraved plate (on verso of title leaf). Modern calf-
backed marbled boards, skillfully executed in period style. Edges
of title a trifle chipped, very light overall browning. A very
good copy. $750
First edition in English, and a delightful Curll publication
that first appeared in Curll's Miscellany in late 1726. The work
was originally published in Amsterdam in 1640.
COMMON SENSE
97. PAINE, THOMAS. Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of
America.... London: For H. D. Symonds, 1792. 36 p. Removed.
Very good. $400
New edition. Gimbel CS-73; Howes P17.
PARENTI--FINE AS ISSUED
98. PARENTI, MARINO. Dizionario dei Luoghi di Stampa Falsi,
Inventati o Supposti. Florence: Sansoni Antiquariato, 1951.
311, [3] p. Facsims. Wrappers. Stitching a bit weak, else a
practically new copy in the dust jacket and publisher's box
(light edge wear). $550
One of 666 numbered copies. An essentially unused copy of
Parenti's great work on false imprints, and a very elusive book,
particularly in original condition.
FIRST EDITION IN RUSSIAN
99. PASTERNAK, BORIS. [in Cyrillic:] Doctor Zhivago. Milan:
Feltrinelli, [n.d., but late 1958 or early 1959]. [4], 567 p.
Pale green laid paper over boards, stamped in black. Faint
browning of the text due to the poor quality of the paper stock,
free endpapers discolored from the dust jacket flaps, but a very
good copy. The dust jacket has some light uniform discoloration
on the white spine and two very tiny spots, and two small closed
tears at the top of the back panel. The price on the front flap
is 42s. net. $2500
First trade or "official" edition of Doctor Zhivago
in Russian, following a rare limited edition published by Mouton
at The Hague over the Feltrinelli imprint earlier in 1958. (See
Lee Biondi, "Manuscript and Printing History of Doctor Zhivago by
Boris Pasternak," Firsts (June 2003)).
PORTLAND MUSEUM CATALOGUE: 1786
100. (PORTLAND MUSEUM). Skinner & Co. A Catalogue of the Portland
Museum, Lately the Property of the Duchess Dowager of Portland
... which will be sold by auction, by Mr. Skinner and Co. ...
1786. London, 1786. 4to. viii, [3]-194 p. Engraved frontis.
Neat modern quarter calf. Lightly foxed throughout, and a bit
heavier on the first and last few leaves, but a very good copy. $5500
An important auction catalogue consisting chiefly of natural
history specimens, many of which had been collected by Cook from
New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, &c. Just over 4000 lots were
dispersed in the course of 38 sessions. "Shells, Corals,
Petrefactions, Minerals, eggs of Birds &c." were on the block.
The frontispiece is a wonderful view of highlights of the
collection, formed by Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, second duchess
of Portland (1714-1785), with pride of place given to the
monumental vase today known as the Portland vase and now in the
British Museum. Many of the natural history specimens were given
to the duchess by Sir Joseph Banks. This copy is numbered 267 in
a contemporary hand. Forbes 116.
OVERLAND TO CALIFORNIA: A GRABHORN
CLASSIC
101. POWELL, H.M.T. The Santa Fe Trail to California,
1849-1852. San Francisco: Book Club of California, [1931].
Folio. [16], 272 p. Illus., folding maps. Half tan calf. Slight
darkening at the head and foot of the spine, else a near-fine
copy. $1800
One of 300 copies printed at the Grabhorn Press for the Book
Club of California. Powell's highly detailed diary records his
journey to the gold mines via the southern route, over the Santa
Fe trail through New Mexico and Arizona to California. An
important modern overland narrative and one of the great Grabhorn
Press books. Howes P525; Streeter Sale 3229; Kurutz 515; Wagner-
Camp 184; Grabhorn Press 158.
FIRST WORK ON OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
102. RAMAZZINI, BERNARDINO. De Morbis Artificum Diatriba.
Modena: Antonio Capponi, 1700. 8vo. viii, 360 p. Contemporary
pastepaper boards, paper-covered spine with hand-lettered paper
label (soiled, one tear in backstrip, some mending). Uncut. Small
dampstain in gutter of first few leaves, very faint dampstain in
top margin of several quires. A very nice copy, fully untrimmed.
In a cloth clamshell box with leather label. $8000
First edition of the first comprehensive treatise on
occupational medicine and the diseases of tradesmen. Ramazzini
(1633-1714) made an extensive study of the effects of labor on
health, particularly among his many working-class patients. He
identified two main classes of occupational diseases. The first
is diseases caused by the noxious quality of either the matter
the workman was handling or the environment in which he was
working, such as metal poisoning of metalworkers, lead, mercury,
and antimony poisoning in painters, chemists, apothecaries,
surgeons and others. The second is diseases caused by continuous
irregular postures of the body. Those affected included
blacksmiths, bricklayers and other masons, and tailors. While
Ramazzini provides clinical descriptions of these occupational
diseases, the emphasis of the book is on prevention rather than
cure. He discusses the lack of industrial hygiene and blames both
the employer, who shows little interest in the health of his
workers, and the workmen themselves, who have difficulty in
changing old habits. Printing and the Mind of Man 170;
Garrison-Morton 2121; Krivatsy 9366; Norman 1776; Grolier 100
(Medicine) 38; Wellcome IV, 467.
FIRST BOOK OF THE WORST VICTORIAN
NOVELIST
103. ROS, AMANDA M'KITTRICK. Irene Iddesleigh. Belfast, 1897.
189 p. Errata slip, initialled by the author. Green cloth. Spine
a bit darkened and canted, otherwise a nice copy. Philip Burne-Jones's copy, signed by him on the endpaper, and later inscribed
by him to "Fred. [E. F.?] Benson." Tipped in is a brief one-sentence ALS from "Amanda M. Ros, Author," to Burne-Jones. $475
First edition of the author's first book. Ros, who John
Sutherland describes as the "leading candidate for the worst
Victorian novelist ever published," wrote ludicrously bad prose
and worse poetry, though thanks to a small group of staunch
admirers she was able to become "Amanda M. Ros, author." Wolff
5958.
THE RARE FIRST EDITION
104. SCHAEFFER, JACOB C. ... Elementa Entomologica....
Regensburg: Gedruckt mit Weissischen Schriften, 1766. 4to. [186]
p. 140 hand colored engraved plates on 72 leaves (of which 4 are
printed on one side only). Text in Latin and German. Modern full
calf, antique. Margins of first few leaves stained from turn-in
of original binding, very minor occasional foxing, light old
mildew stain on upper corners of binding, else a very good copy,
with beautiful, clean plates. $6000
The rare first edition of this important German insect book.
The beautifully engraved and colored plates include images of the
collector's cabinet as well as his collecting apparatus. Only one
imperfect copy of the first edition has sold at major auction
within the last 26 years, in 1994. Nissen, ZBI, 3626.
IN QUITE REMARKABLE CONDITION
105. SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. Historical and Statistical Information,
Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian
Tribes of the United States.... Philadelphia: Lippincott,
Grambo & Co. [et al], 1851-57. 6 volumes, thick folio.
Approx. 330 lithographed and steel-engraved plates, many tinted,
some hand colored or chromolithographed, largely after artist
Seth Eastman. Original half dark green morocco, marbled paper
sides, reddish-brown endpapers, in remarkably fine condition--
bright and fresh. Engraved fore-titles moderately foxed; black-
and-white plates and tissue guards range from entirely unfoxed to
moderately foxed with most lightly foxed in the margins; color
plates largely unfoxed, a few lightly foxed in the margins. $20,000
First edition of the most extensive nineteenth-century study
of the Native American tribes of North America, compiled under
the direction of Henry R. Schoolcraft, longtime Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, and profusely illustrated, largely from paintings
and drawings by artist Seth Eastman. The six massive volumes were
issued both in cloth and in half morocco, as here. Because of
their weight, the volumes almost never survived in fine
condition, and nearly every copy is either in a worn and shabby
original binding or has been rebound. All exhibit varying degrees
of foxing. The present copy appears to have had little if any
use, and other than very light wear along the bottoms of the
boards, the binding is remarkably fine and bright. A lovely
collector's copy. Howes S183.
TRAVELS IN THE OLD NORTHWEST
106. SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. Narrative of an Expedition through the
Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake, the Actual Source of this
River; Embracing an Exploratory Trip through the St. Croix and
Burntwood (or Broule) Rivers; in 1831. New York: Harper &
Brothers, 1834. [2], 307, [1] p. 5 maps (2 folding). Modern half
red crushed levant morocco. First few leaves neatly washed, old
penned number on title and second leaf, else a fine copy. $1000
First edition. Schoolcraft undertook several journeys
through the Old Northwest Territory, on one of which he
discovered the true source of the Mississippi River. The
extensive appendix contains the documentation of his reports as
well as a Chippewa vocabulary. Wagner-Camp 50a:1; Howes S187;
Graff 3698.
FIRST GAZETTEER OF THE UNITED STATES:
1795
107. SCOTT, JOSEPH. The United States Gazetteer: Containing an
Authentic Description of the Several States, their Situation,
Extent, Boundaries ... their Respective Counties....
Philadelphia: F. and R. Bailey, 1795. 12mo. [iii]-vi, [294] p.
Engraved title, large engraved folding map of the U.S., and 18
smaller engraved folding maps of states and territories.
Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked retaining the
original spine label, endpapers neatly replaced with period
paper. Usual light offsetting on the maps and on the facing text
pages, a few stray spots, else a very good, very attractive copy.
Early signature of J. McKnight. $10,000
First edition of the first gazetteer of the United States,
with nineteen maps drawn and engraved by the author. Included are
maps from Maine to South Carolina and Kentucky, as well as
important early maps of the Northwest Territory and the Southwest
Territory. Scott introduces his work in a short preface: ". . .
what was but a few years ago, a pathless region, is now become a
rich, and flourishing settlement; interspersed with pleasant
towns, and thriving villages." Evans 29476, Howes S237, Rink 225,
Wheat & Brun 125 (U.S. map, plus all state and territory
maps).
THE FIRST HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY
108. SMITH, SAMUEL. The History of the Colony of Nova-Caesaria, or
New-Jersey: Containing, an Account of its First Settlement,
Progressive Improvements, the Original and Present Constitution,
and other Events, to the Year 1721. With some Particulars Since;
and a Short View of its Present State. Burlington: James
Parker, 1765. x, 573, [1] p. Modern calf-backed marbled paper-
covered boards, very skillfully executed in period style.
Noticeably foxed, as usual, a few blank corners torn away without
loss. With contemporary ownership signatures of Burlington County
residents Saml. Black and Abner Wright. $2000
The first edition of the first general history of New
Jersey. James Parker left his Woodbridge printing office in the
care of his son and moved to Burlington to fulfill a
long-standing promise to Samuel Smith to print his history as
soon as it was ready for the press. The printing press used was
one belonging to Benjamin Franklin and formerly used by
Franklin's nephew, Benjamin Mecom, in Antigua. The press was
shipped from New York to Burlington in April of 1765, used for
the Smith book and three or four smaller Burlington jobs, then
sent on to Philadelphia in February of 1766, at which time Parker
returned to Woodbridge. The press run was 600 copies, as
indicated by Parker's bill to Smith. Parker printed two title
pages simultaneously on a halfsheet, thus providing each title
page a blank conjugate for binding that also precluded the need
for a free front endpaper. This old time- and cost-saving
printer's trick, combined with stop-press alterations in the text
of a number of sheets, has led past bibliographers to speak of
two distinct issues of the book. There is absolutely no
correlation between the uncorrected and corrected sheets and the
two title pages; all were freely mixed by the binder without any
discernable pattern or priority. See Felcone, New Jersey
Books, 243, for a seven-page analysis of this cornerstone New
Jersey book. Evans 10166; Miller, Benjamin Franklin's
Philadelphia Printing, 853; Streeter Sale 923; Howes S661.
THE "SMYTH REPORT" ON THE CREATION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB:
ONE OF HENRY DeWOLF SMYTH'S OWN COPIES, SIGNED BY HIM
109. SMYTH, HENRY DeWOLF. A General Account of the Development of
Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the
Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945.
[Washington: Adjutant General's Office, August 1945.] 10 3/8 x 7
7/8 in. [193] pages (97 leaves). Diagrams. Printed by lithoprint
from stencils made by multiple typewriters. Stapled in cream
textured stiff paper covers. One of Smyth's own copies, in
pristine condition, signed by him on the title page. $4200
The rare lithoprint version of the first account of the
Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, prepared
from stencils made by typewriters in the Adjutant General's
Office in the Pentagon. According to Smyth ("The 'Smyth Report,'"
Princeton University Library Chronicle 37:180), "The
'printer' was in fact the facility for reproducing secret
documents in the Adjutant General's Office ... [When] they were
finished they were immediately slapped into the safe in General
Groves' office in the Pentagon because their content was still
classified Top Secret and remained so until August 11, when the
whole report was made public by President Truman's order...."
Smyth was given a small number of copies for his own personal
use. Once the report was declassified (six days after the
destruction of Hiroshima and three days before the declaration of
the end of the war), it was immediately printed by Princeton
University Press and shortly thereafter by the Government
Printing Office. In the late 1970s Professor Smyth was cleaning
out his office at Princeton and found a few copies of the
original lithoprinted version. At the request of Princeton
University, he signed the copies and presented them to the
university. This is one of those copies. It is complete, and
contains three repeated leaves. Because the leaves were gathered
for binding in great haste and under the pressure of tight
security precautions, the surviving copies often contain missing
and/or repeated leaves. No leaves are missing in this copy. PMM
422e; Coleman, "The 'Smyth Report': A Descriptive Checklist," 3.
Accompanied by a copy of the Princeton University Library
Chronicle offprint devoted to the "Smyth Report," including
Smyth's own account and the Coleman checklist.
PATERSON LOTTERY TICKET, OWNED BY AN EARLY AMERICAN
JEWISH WOMAN
110. SOCIETY FOR ESTABLISHING USEFUL MANUFACTURES. Lottery ticket for
the "Paterson Lottery," undated but about 1797. Printed by John
Woods in Newark. Signed by Jonathan Rhea. A lovely example, with
one very tiny chip out of the type ornament border on the left
edge, else fine and fresh, with the ticket number in red ink. The
ticket owner, Rachel Levy, has signed her name on the verso. $700
A rare ticket for the ill-fated S.U.M. lottery in Paterson,
presumably owned by a member of the early American Jewish Levy
family.
FIRST COLLECTED EDITION OF SPENSER: HENRY DETHICK'S
COPY
111. SPENSER, EDMUND. The Faerie Queen: The Shepheards Calendar:
together with the other Works of England's Arch-Poët.
[London]: By H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes, 1611]. Fol.
[4], 363, [19]; [10], 56, [2]; [136] p. Title within woodcut
border, 12 woodcut vignettes in Shepheard's Calendar,
woodcut head- and tailpieces. Complete with all blanks: 2I4,
[para]8, and 2F4. Contemporary blind-ruled calf, central gilt-
stamped ornament on covers and smaller ornaments on spine, very
skillfully rebacked retaining most of original spine. Leaf 2B2
soiled, final leaf creased and with lower blank corner torn away
without loss, occasional very light soiling, else a lovely, crisp
copy. From the library of Henry Dethick, with his signature, and
that of George Dethick, on the title page and the front flyleaf.
Two modern book labels. $7000
First collected edition, being a reissue of the 1609 edition
of the Faerie Queen, with a cancel title dated 1611
serving as a collective title for the author's works. Our copy
corresponds with ESTC S123523 except our copy contains all of the
blank leaves and collates pi1 A-2H6 ¶8, 2A-E6 F4, 3A-L6 M2. The
title and colophon leaves of the second part of the Faerie
Queen are dated 1609, and the Prosopoia or Mother Hubberds
Tale attacking Lord Burghley has been suppressed (see
Pforzheimer). This copy has a most interesting provenance, having
belonged to Henry Dethick (1547/8-c.1613), Latin poet and writer
on poetic theory. Dethick was the author of Oratio in Laudem
Poëseos, dedicated to Lord Burghley and printed c.1574--one
of the earliest formal defenses of poetry in Elizabethan England.
Pforzheimer 972; STC 28083.3; Johnson 19.
INSCRIBED BY "SONNY BOY" VELIS
112. STEINBECK, JOHN. Sweet Thursday. New York: Viking, 1954.
x, 273 p. Cloth (spine canted). Dust jacket (price-clipped, light
chipping at spine ends and corners, few dampstains). Inscribed on
the front endpaper "To --- From George Sonny Boy Velis, Monterey,
Calif, July 31-1955. See you on Broadway, N.Y." $450
Intermediate edition, with red and black title page,
unstained top edge, red dot at lower corner of rear cover, and
testimonials under the Halsman photo on the dust jacket's rear
panel. George "Sonny Boy" Velis operated the restaurant and bar
in Monterey that is the subject of the entire chapter 23 in
Sweet Thursday as well as a paragraph in Travels with
Charley.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, IN A LOVELY CONTEMPORARY
BINDING
113. SUCKLING, SIR JOHN. Fragmenta Aurea. A Collection of all the
Incomparable Peeces, Written by Sir John Suckling ... Printed by
his owne Copies. London: For Humphrey Moseley, 1646. [6],
119, [7], 82, 64, [4], 52 p. Engraved port. by William Marshall.
Contemporary calf, gilt fillet and cornerpieces, red morocco
spine label. Portrait and first two leaves with two very tiny
holes at the gutter, worm trail in lower margin of first three
gatherings, else a very nice copy in a lovely contemporary
binding. Bookplate of C. Pearl Chamberlain and book label of Abel
Berland. Fine red morocco pull-off case. Accompanied by an A.L.S.
of John Suckling (1569-1627), father of the poet, Goodfathers, 29
July 1625, to an unnamed recipient, seeking information on his
election as a burgess in Yarmouth. $6000
First edition, first state of the title, with "FRAGMENTA
AVREA" in upper case, a period after "Churchyard" in the imprint,
and the rule under the date; A3v:16 reads "allowred." Second
state of the frontispiece, re-incised with heavier lines around
the leaves of the garland and the bulge in the left sleeve.
According the Beaurline and Clayton, the plate was most certainly
re-incised in the course of printing and is fairly evenly
distributed with the various states of the title. Suckling is
perhaps best remembered for the fine lyrics in his dramas,
including the famous line "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?" (in
Aglaura). D'Avenant called Suckling the greatest gallant
and gamester of his day. He is also remembered as the inventor of
the game of cribbage. L. A. Beaurline and T. Clayton, "Notes on
Early Editions of Fragmenta Aurea," Studies in
Bibliography 23 (1970), pp. 165-170; Greg III, 1130; Hayward
84; Pforzheimer 996; Wing S-6126.
SWAMMERDAM ON INSECTS
114. SWAMMERDAM, JAN. Histoire Generale des Insectes....
Utrecht: Jean Ribbius, 1685. 4to. [8], 215 p. 13 engraved plates,
folding table. Later half calf, antique. Extremities of spine a
bit rubbed, else a very good copy. $1200
Second edition in French; originally published in Dutch in
1669.
AN OCEANOGRAPHIC CIRCUMNAVIGATION
115. SWIRE, HERBERT. The Voyage of the Challenger. A Personal
Narrative of the Historic Circumnavigation of the Globe in the
Years 1872-1876. London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1938. 2 vols.
Sm. fol. Colored plates, text illustrations. Blue cloth boards,
white cloth spines, gilt. A fine copy, in the publisher's cloth
slipcase (lightly rubbed at extremities). $1000
One of 300 numbered copies, printed in Eric Gill's Perpetua
type on Van Gelder paper. Swire was navigating sub-lieutenant on
the voyage, and the handsome illustrations are reproduced from
the original drawings in his journals. "The voyage of the
Challenger, under the command of Sir George Nares, was of
great scientific importance. It is now considered to be the
inception of oceanography as one of the sciences."--Hill 586.
LAWS OF TEXAS, 1838-1840
116. TEXAS. LAWS. Laws of the Republic of Texas, Passed at the
First Session of the Third Congress. Houston: Telegraph Power
Press, 1839. [2], 145, [1], v p. + addenda slip pasted to verso
of final page of index. [Bound with:] Laws of the
Republic of Texas, Passed at the Session of the Fourth
Congress. Houston: Telegraph Power Press, 1840. 280, [2],
vii, [1] p. incl. errata leaf. Two works bound together in modern
law cloth, red and black leather spine labels. Line endings in
gathering I of second work slightly cropped, scattered light
foxing and overall light browning, else very good. $750
Two early Texas session laws. The first work is Streeter's
second issue, with the additional act for the punishment of horse
thieves on page 145. Shoemaker 58843, American Imprints
40-6502; Streeter, Texas, 354A, 416.
LAWS OF TEXAS, 1844
117. TEXAS. LAWS. Laws Passed by the Eighth Congress of the
Republic of Texas. Houston: Cruger & Moore, 1844. 120, viii,
vii p. Later marbled paper-covered boards, cloth spine, printed
paper spine label. Library stamps on title page, embossed stamp
(barely noticeable) on each cover. Stamps aside, a very good
copy. $250
Texas session laws of 1844. American Imprints 44-
6075; Streeter, Texas, 603.
A LOVELY COPY, SIGNED BY TOLKIEN
118. TOLKIEN, J.R.R. The Hobbit. London: George Allen & Unwin,
[1959]. 315, [1] p. Illus. Color frontis. Green cloth, blocked in
black. Dust jacket. A fine copy in a just-about-fine, un-price-
clipped dust jacket, with just two tiny closed edge tears. Signed
on the half title "J.R.R. Tolkien. 17 Dec. 1959." Armorial
bookplate. $10,000
Eleventh impression. A lovely copy, signed by Tolkien in his
last year of teaching at Oxford. The recipient was a graduate
student of Tolkien's.
FLOOR JOURNAL OF BOTH SESSIONS OF THE SECOND CONGRESS,
1791-1793
119. UNITED STATES. CONGRESS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Journal of
the House of Representatives of the United States, at the
First [-Second] Session of the Second Congress.
Philadelphia: Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1792-1793. Folio. 2
vols. in 1. 245 p.; 267 [i.e., 167], [25] p. Bound in modern
calf-backed marbled boards, very skillfully executed in period
style. Several gatherings in the second volume foxed, else near
fine. From the library of James Mott, treasurer of New Jersey
during this period. $2000
The detailed floor proceedings, motions, and votes of both
sessions of the second Congress, from October 1791 through March
1793. One can follow the course of many important bills as they
are introduced, read, amended, voted on, and eventually enacted
into law. Key legislation at this session included the
establishment of the mint, copper coinage, protection of the
frontiers, a uniform militia law, and the Ohio Territory. Evans
24910, 26332.
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS PUBLISHES
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
120. UNITED STATES. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. Journals of Congress.
Containing the Proceedings in the Year 1776. Published by Order
of Congress. Volume II. Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1777. [2],
513, [22] p. Modern full mottled sheepskin, superbly executed in
exact facsimile of the original binding, the spine with a red
morocco title label and "1776" tooled on a black oval onlay. Some
internal dampstaining and browning, particularly toward the end
of the text, else a very handsome volume. With the signature of
Samuel McCraw Gunn, dated 1822, on the title page. Enclosed in a
four-flap chemise and morocco-backed slipcase. $20,000
First edition of the second volume of the journals of the
Continental Congress, covering Congress' proceedings for the year
1776 and containing the full text of the Declaration of
Independence.
On September 26, 1776, the Continental Congress ordered
Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken to reprint the earlier (i.e.,
1775) journals of Congress and to continue to print the journals
"with all possible expedition." According to Charles Hildeburn,
quoting Aitken's statement to Congress, "I printed 800 copies of
the second volumes, 50 were carried to Lancaster, and committed
to the care of Mr. [John] Dunlap. I find of the other 750 copies
only 532 were delivered. I allow 218 copies as they have been
lost or embessled." (Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania,
3577) The text contains a complete record of the proceedings of
the Continental Congress from January 1 through December 31,
1776. On page 240 the session of Tuesday, July 4, begins:
"Agreeable to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself,
into a committee of the whole, to take into their farther
consideration the declaration, and after some time the president
resumed the chair, and Mr. Harrison reported that the committee
have agreed to a declaration which they desired him to report.
The declaration being read, was agreed to, as follows...." Here
begins the full text of the Declaration of Independence, ending
at the bottom of page 246 with the name of the final signer. The
text of the entire volume is set solid in a Long Primer type. The
text of the Declaration is set in a leaded Small Pica type. There
is no mistaking the emphasis.
Next follows Congress' resolution: "That copies of the
declaration be sent to the several assemblies, conventions and
committees, or councils of safety, and to the several commanding
officers of the continental troops; that it be proclaimed in each
of the United States, and at the head of the army." Evans
15684.
FIRST CODIFICATION OF U.S. MILITARY
LAWS
121. UNITED STATES. WAR DEPT. Military Laws of the United States;
to which is Prefixed the Constitution of the United States. By
Trueman Cross. Washington: Edward De Krafft, 1825. xxxi, [1],
279 p. Contemporary sheep. Foxed, binding scuffed but very tight
and solid. William G. McNeill's copy, signed and dated 1827 on
the title page and with his name neatly lettered in ink on the
front cover. In a portfolio and fine morocco-backed slipcase. $2200
First edition of the first attempt to fully codify the
military laws of the United States. Preceded by the Constitution,
the work contains the texts of all laws pertaining to the
military in the United States, beginning in 1776 and continuing
through 1824, including a comprehensive 17-page index. The book
was compiled by Trueman Cross under the authority of the War
Department. Cross was a career military officer and is often
considered the first important fatality of the Mexican War,
having been killed by Mexican banditti on the Rio Grande near
Fort Texas in April 1846. This copy belonged to William G.
McNeill, an army topographical engineer who left the service in
the late 1820s to become a railroad engineer. He supervised the
surveying and construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and
eventually became one of the foremost railroad engineers in the
country.
Cross's book, though owned by several libraries, is very
rare in trade. No copy appears in the auction records from the
mid-1970s onward, and it is unlisted in Shoemaker's American
Imprints. This is a lovely copy, in the original binding,
with a fine provenance.
VIRGIL ENGLISHED, 1562
122. VIRGIL. The Nyne fyrst bookes of the Eneidos of Virgil
converted into Englishe vearse by Thomas Phaer. London: By
Rouland Hall, for Nicholas Englande, 1562. 4to. [220] p. Woodcut
on title. Text in black letter. Nineteenth-century morocco, ruled
in gilt, edges gilt. Extremities lightly worn, minor scuffing.
First quire washed and neatly extended at top edge, possibly
supplied from another copy. A few internal repairs, else a very
good copy with excellent full margins. Rubislaw House bookplate
of John Morgan. $11,000
A rare early edition in English verse of Virgil's
Aeneid, translated by Thomas Phayer (1510?-1560). Edited
by William Wightman. STC 24800.
WAFER'S ACCOUNT OF THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA:
1699
123. WAFER, LIONEL. A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of
America, Giving an Account of the Author's Abode there, the Form
and Make of the Country.... London: For James Knapton, 1699.
8vo. [8], 224, [16] p. Engraved folding map, 3 folding plates.
Nineteenth-century morocco, hinges and extremities scuffed. Very
faint toning to edges of text, else excellent internaly. Wolfgang
Herz book label. $2400
First edition of one of the best accounts of the Isthmus of
Panama and the interior of Central America. Wafer, a surgeon
later turned buccaneer, was originally with Dampier and others in
the expeditions to the Isthmus. He was injured, and remained at
the Isthmus, where he became intimate with the Indians and was
able to record their customs. The three plates all depict
Indians, in one of which they are smoking tobacco "after their
way." European Americana 699/223; Hill 1796; Wing W-193;
Field 1617.
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA, OR WALES
124. (WALES). Caradoc, of Llancarvan. The History of Wales.
Comprehending the Lives and Succession of the Princes of Wales,
from Cadwalader the Last King, to Lhewelyn the Last Prince, of
British Blood.... London: By M. Clark, for the author, and R.
Clavell, 1697. [40], xxiii, [1], 398, [18] p. Contemporary calf,
rebacked in period style, later endpapers. A very nice copy.
$450
A classic history of Cambria, or Wales. The original work by
Caradoc of Llancarvan is not known, but a version on which this
edition is loosely based was published in 1584 as The Historie
of Cambria. That work was in fact assembled and translated by
Humphrey Llwyd from various Welch sources and expanded by David
Powell. This 1697 edition has been extensively rewritten and
augmented by William Wynne. Wing C488.
WALTON'S COMPLEAT ANGLER: 1759
125. WALTON, IZAAK. The Compleat Angler: or, Contemplative Man's
Recreation.... London: By Henry Kent, 1759. xxiv, 340, [8] p.
Woodcuts in text. 10 engraved plates by H. Burgh. Contemporary
mottled calf, very skillfully rebacked in period style retaining
original spine label. Offsetting from plates, else a fine, fresh,
and quite handsome copy. Armorial bookplate. $1400
Seventh edition, "very much amended and improved." This is
the second edition edited by Moses Browne and contains material
not in the first Browne edition of 1750. Coigney 8; Horne 8.
ADVICE TO YOUNG DOCTORS: AVOID WINE AND
CIGARS
126. WATERHOUSE, BENJAMIN. Cautions to Young Persons Concerning
Health in a Public Lecture Delivered at the Close of the Medical
Course in ... Cambridge Nov. 20. 1804; Containing the General
Doctrine of Chronic Diseases; Shewing the Evil Tendency of the
Use of Tobacco upon Young Persons; more especially the Pernicious
Effects of Smoking Cigarrs; with Observations on the Use of
Ardent and Vinous Spirits in General. Cambridge [Mass.]:
University Press, by W. Hilliard, 1805. 32 p. Contemporary
marbled paper covers, printed paper label on upper cover; neatly
bound in later cloth. Light, mostly marginal foxing, some
spotting on label, else a very good, wide-margined copy. $650
Waterhouse (1754-1846) was the first professor of medicine
at Harvard. Austin 2005; S&S 9690.
FIRST MEDICAL BOOK PRINTED IN NEW
JERSEY
127. WESLEY, JOHN. Primative [sic] Physic; or an Easy
and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. Trenton:
Quequelle and Wilson, 1788. 12mo. 125 p. Modern full sheep,
superbly executed in period style. Title leaf washed and very
skillfully laid down, lower corner neatly replaced, random
dampstaining and a few chipped corners. A correctly restored copy
of a very scarce book. $1800
The first medical book printed in New Jersey. Wesley's
Primitive Physic (here misspelled on the title page by
novice printers Frederick C. Quequelle and George M. Wilson) is a
collection of remedies for the treatment of diseases, symptoms,
and accidental injuries. First published in London in 1747, it
was reprinted more than forty times over the next eighty years.
This Trenton edition is rare, and the handful of located copies
are largely in poor condition from very heavy use. Evans 21589;
Austin 2029.
FIRST BOOK OF ISHILL'S ANARCHIST PRESS
128. WILDE, OSCAR. The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Stelton, N.J.:
Published and printed by Joseph Ishill, Ferrer Colony, 1916. [4],
v, [5], 9-39 p. Paper-covered boards, printed label on front
cover, muslin spine. Covers soiled and worn at the extremities; a
good copy only. $400
Foreword by Frank Harris. The first book printed and
published by Joseph Ishill at the anarchist Ferrer Colony in
Stelton, New Jersey, of which Ishill was one of the original
members. Ishill later established the Oriole Press at Berkeley
Heights, New Jersey.
WILLYAMS' ACCOUNT OF NELSON'S BATTLE OF THE
NILE
129. WILLYAMS, COOPER. A Voyage up the Mediterranean in His
Majesty's Ship the Swiftsure ... with a Description of the Battle
of the Nile.... London: By T. Bensley, for J. White, 1802.
4to. xxiii, [1], 309 p. Engraved dedication leaf with colored
arms, double-page aquatint map, and 41 aquatint plates.
Contemporary straight-grain red morocco, skillfully rebacked at
an early date retaining entire original spine with gilt sailing-
ship ornaments within compartments, edges gilt. Other than light
offsetting from the plates and an occasional marginal spot or
tiny stain, a clean, lovely copy. $4500
First edition of a handsome book. Willyams was chaplain on
board the Swiftsure, part of Nelson's fleet in the
Mediterranean in 1798-99. The work includes one of the best
first-hand accounts of the Battle of the Nile, in which Nelson's
ships triumphed over a strong French force. Willyams was also an
artist, and the lovely aquatints, made from his drawings, depict
views of Naples, Florence, Venice, Alexandria, Rhodes, Sicily,
and Gibraltar. Abbey, Travel, 196; Blackmer 1813.
WILSON AND BONAPARTE'S AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY--COMPLETE
AND LOVELY
130. WILSON, ALEXANDER. American Ornithology; or, The Natural
History of the Birds of the United States. Philadelphia:
Bradford and Inskeep, 1808-1814. Folio. 9 vols. bound in 3. 76
hand-colored engraved plates. [With:] CHARLES L. BONAPARTE,
American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of Birds
Inhabiting the United States, Not Given by Wilson.
Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey, 1825-1833. Folio. 4 vols. bound
in 2. 27 hand-colored engraved plates. Uniformly bound in full
red morocco, richly gilt; skillfully rebacked to style. The
Wilson with the usual offsetting common to this work, but with
the plates fine and fresh with practically no foxing; the
Bonaparte with considerably less offsetting and the plates just
about fine, two text gatherings slightly browned. Light scuffing
at the extremities of the bindings. $30,000
First editions of both works, the former with the earliest
state of the text (preface dated Oct. 1808) and an original
subscriber's set. A lovely and most desireable matched set of
both works. Alexander Wilson's American Ornithology is one
of the great early American color plate books. It is the first
American work to use color plates to convey scientific
information, and it is the first real combination of text and
color illustration produced in the United States. (Reese,
Nineteenth Century American Color Plate Books) In the 76
plates, most engraved by Alexander Lawson, Wilson depicted more
than three quarters of the species of birds known to exist in
America at that time. Bonaparte's work was issued as a supplement
to Wilson's. Plate IV, the Great Crow Blackbird, was drawn by
John J. Audubon and represents the first appearance of any plate
after Audubon. Audubon was highly incensed by the liberties the
engraver, Alexander Lawson, had taken with his original drawing,
and he was doubly offended that Alexander Rider's name also
appeared on the plate as the artist. Both the Wilson and the
Bonaparte works were commonly bound without tissue guards,
resulting in varying degrees of offsetting of the plates onto the
facing text pages. While this set contains the usual offsetting,
the plates are fine and fresh, without the foxing that so often
mars them. Nissen, 992, 116; Meisel III pp. 369, 393; Reese 3.
RARE 1874 WYOMING PROMOTIONAL WORK
131. (WYOMING). Wyoming (Territory). The Territory of Wyoming. Its
History, Soil, Climate, Resources, etc. Laramie City: Daily
Sentinel Print, Dec. 1874. 83, [1] p. Blue printed wrappers. A
long diagonal tear in the lower corner of the title page has been
neatly closed with a strip of cellophane tape on either side
(touching one letter of type), spine ends a bit chipped, else a
very good, clean copy, with the wrappers in lovely condition. $4500
The first book printed at Laramie, Wyoming, written only
five years after the territory was organized. Compiled and issued
by the territory's board of immigration, the work was written to
attract settlers to an area that was still largely unexplored.
The text includes detailed information about cattle and sheep
ranching including costs of starting a ranch and projected
profits. The territory's commissioner of immigration was J. K.
Jeffrey, who Howes credits as the text's author. The book is
quite rare: only one copy appears in the auction records in the
last 31 years (Swann, 1995). Howes "b" J85; Streeter Sale 2244;
Adams, Herd, 2638.
ONE OF 50 ON LARGE PAPER, SIGNED
132. YOUNG, WILLIAM. Botanica Neglecta. William Young, Jr. (of
Philadelphia) "Botaniste de Penslyvanie" and his Long-Forgotten
Book. Being a Facsimile Reprint.... Philadelphia, 1916. 4to.
xi, [4], 55 p. Unopened. Cloth-backed boards, printed paper
label. Endpapers discolored from glue migration, extremities a
bit rubbed, but a very good copy. $300
One of 50 copies on large paper, quarto, signed and numbered
by the editor, Samuel N. Rhoads. A facsimile reprint of Young's
Catalogue d'Arbres, Arbustes et Plantes Herbacées d'Amerique,
par M. Yong, Botaniste de Pensylvanie, published in Paris in
1783, with a lengthy introduction by the American antiquarian
Samuel Nicholson Rhoads. Rhoads considered the work the earliest
published book by an American botanist devoted solely to American
plants. There were also 200 copies on small paper, octavo.
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